Rain Must Fall
by MeeLee
Summary: [COMPLETE] Semi­­­–­­­­­AU. A war between Rain and Leaf has recently ended. But when a diplomatic team from Rain arrives in Leaf to negotiate a peace treaty, Kakashi finds himself unwittingly attracted to one of the representatives. Eventual KakaIru.
1. I

**A/N: **All right, I have finally decided to quit with the one-shots and drabbles, and start getting serious.

So…I bring you "Rain Must Fall," MeeLee's first multi-chapter Naruto fanfiction. I won't say too much about it, other than that it's semi-AU, meaning that Kakashi is from Hidden Leaf and Iruka is from Hidden Rain. Eventual KakaIru. I am way too obsessed with this couple.

As always, reviews are appreciated and flames are ignored.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

**_RAIN MUST FALL: _****CHAPTER I **

_Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; _

_Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; _

_Thy fate is the common fate of all, _

_Into each life some rain must fall… _

_-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Rainy Day" _

**BEGIN**

It was dark, utterly dark, the cold oppressive, the wind a merciless harbinger of death and blood and endless blackness. He could not see in the inky darkness that surrounded him, but he needed no eyes. He was shinobi, after all.

The trees opened up before him as he leapt gracefully through the forest canopy, dodging leaves that felt like ice and branches that clawed at him like so many gnarled, dying hands. He could have stopped, he supposed, but the mission required haste. And the mission always came before anything else, before fatigue, before emotions, before even his own life.

And so he continued, through the leaves and the branches and the gathering darkness, through the thick ocean of black, black, black. The wind blew harshly, tugging at his silver hair, at the mask pulled over half of his face. He could smell the blood already.

And then suddenly they were there, so many dark and deadly shadows that descended upon him like demons. Little flashes of light came into his vision now, glinting off of sharpened kunai and shuriken and the polished metal plates of hitai-ate, so much like his own but for the four parallel dark lines cutting through the centers of each.

A squad of Hidden Rain shinobi. Enemies.

They moved like wraiths, both himself and his opponents. Kunai flew, shuriken spun, exploding tags threw off eerie flashes into the night. The world became tinted a strange pink and everything became outlined in a distinct chakra glow as his hitai-ate disappeared of its own accord and his Sharingan eye was exposed and, keeping a tight grip on his kunai, he surged forward.

It was over in an instant; he had only to blink and the other ninja had fallen and disappeared into the darkness. Now it was only him. And the other.

The other was currently slumped against a nearby tree, an eerie light playing on him so that his features became strangely outlined and exaggerated: short dark brown hair that hung loosely about his face and rather large, deep brown eyes.

One word entered his mind, echoing like a condemnation. _Again_, it said. It was _again._ He had seen this man _again_, had fought with him _again_, had injured him _again._ And now…and now…

He would kill him _again. _

He watched as a helpless spectator as his body walked forward on its own, holding the kunai that suddenly felt frighteningly cold in his calloused hands. And as he stood over the dying (soon to be dead) Rain shinobi, he saw the other man's face shift from the pain of the wound to an accepting, resigned, almost tired smile.

The ninja closed his eyes, leaning his head back against what was no longer a tree but a wall of darkness, for the tree had gone too and it was just them now. He opened his mouth, his lips moved, but it took a moment for the words to come, echoing and undulating but strangely clear.

"Do it," the words said. "And don't be sorry."

He stepped forward and brought the kunai around in a practiced motion, slashing the man's throat open. And there was blood.

Except it was too much blood, and he watched in horror as the entire man's body melted into blood, flowing smoothly onto the dark ground in rivers, in torrents, in fucking _tsunamis why the hell is there so much BLOOD— _

And then he was drowning, drowning in the blood that suddenly pooled around his feet like a lake of death and foreboding and red _everywhere_ and he was sinking and couldn't get out, and he tried to do something—something anything _please_—but he was sinking, still sinking and thrashing and trying to _breathe_ but he couldn't and he was going to drown and he was going to die and there was blood and red and wet and cold and black and _don't be sorry_ but he _was_ sorry and he didn't want to _die_ and oh Kami-sama _please someone HELP ME—

* * *

_

It was the incessant ringing of his alarm clock that woke him from the dream. Yes, dream, twenty-six-year-old Hatake Kakashi said to himself as he blinked groggily, ignoring the sweat trickling down his brow and his own hitching breaths as he reached over and slapped a hand down on the cursed device, bathing his bedroom in silence once again.

A dream. Because shinobi don't have nightmares. Especially not about the people they killed in a war that had ended nearly six months ago.

Yawning quietly, Kakashi turned just enough to read his clock. Which, in retrospect, was pretty stupid since he knew what time he set that damn thing for every day anyway, but it was the principle that counted.

Four o'clock. Kakashi grumbled to himself, briefly contemplating an extra two or three hours of sleep until the sun rose for certain, but then remembered the western wing of the hospital that had been badly damaged, and a half-hearted promise he had made to one of the nurses to help rebuild it. Sighing, he sprang lithely out of bed and headed into the bathroom.

Methodically slipping out of his sleeping clothes and ducking his head under the cold spray of the shower, Kakashi allowed his mind to wander briefly to the events of the last year. He was sure he wasn't the only shinobi who was relieved that the war was over. Especially because no one really even knew why it had started in the first place.

The only thing anyone knew for certain was that, more than a year ago, two teams of ninja, one from Hidden Rain and one from Hidden Leaf, had slaughtered each other for reasons unknown. Both villages had been outraged, and blame was thrown wildly back and forth. Finger-pointing and name-calling soon escalated into not a few skirmishes and two major battles, all with notable losses, and not long after, formal war had been declared and all shinobi in both villages had been mobilized, including one Hatake Kakashi, famous (or perhaps infamous) Copy-Nin of Konoha.

Which had led to him being assigned to steal a top-secret scroll from the front lines and to return it to Konoha as quickly as possible. Stealing the scroll had been no problem, but on the way back he had been ambushed by a small squad of Rain ninja, led by _that_ man. That "Do it and don't be sorry" man.

Kakashi shook his head slowly as he finally stepped out of the shower, towelling himself off and dressing quickly in the standard-issue dark blue shirt and pants before proceeding to brush his teeth and run careless fingers through his drying hair.

No shinobi in his right mind should have said that. Hell, no shinobi _not_ in his right mind should have said that either, the jounin thought to himself as he zipped up his vest and tied his hitai-ate around his forehead, pulling it down so that the left side slanted over his Sharingan, obscuring it from view. That Rain shinobi had had a death wish, and while it was common for shinobi to do so—hell, even Kakashi had found himself more than once sitting on the cold bathroom floor contemplating the different uses of a razor blade—it hadn't seemed right for that man. Because Kakashi had looked at that man and he had seen a family, a loving wife and maybe one or two adorable little kids who would never see their father again. He had seen a _family_ in that man's eyes, and Kakashi knew he had killed more than one person that night.

Perhaps that was why he had made that promise to himself, he thought, tying his kunai holster to his leg and hooking his supply bag onto his waistband. The promise that, should he ever run into anyone from that man's family, he would reveal himself as the killer and afford the other a chance at revenge. Because that was the least he could do for that shinobi.

But until then, his home village required his assistance, Kakashi reminded himself as he stepped out of his apartment, setting the traps and locking the door firmly behind him. Even though the war had officially ended more than half a year ago, reconstruction was still going on and both villages were making large efforts to rebuild.

Of course, that didn't mean they were ignoring each other, Kakashi thought, nose buried in his bright orange _Icha Icha_ book as he walked casually down the street, other hand stuffed in his pocket, nodding the occasional good-morning to shinobi and civilians alike. After conducting an extensive investigation of exactly what had happened between those two unfortunate teams, Hidden Rain had concluded that misinformation on the part of their team had led them to see the Leaf shinobi as enemies, resulting in the brutal attack. With minimal hesitation, then, Hidden Rain took on official responsibility for the war and the deaths of the shinobi teams, and in a public statement by the daimyo the village asked for peace negotiations with the promise to pay reparations for the deaths of those lost from the Leaf team.

Apparently as tired of the war as the other village was, Hidden Leaf readily agreed, and in return for Rain's cooperation did not push for unfair terms in the resulting truce. A cease-fighting agreement was imposed, troops were withdrawn, and a renewal of their previous alliance was put into serious consideration. Since then, both villages had been occupied with their own reconstruction, but neither forgot nor hesitated to send teams of shinobi back and forth to help with the rebuilding effort in the other village as a sign of goodwill. Kakashi himself had gone to Rain once to help with the reconstruction of one of the village's outer walls, and during the four or so days he had stayed there he had found the Rain people to be very pleasant. They held no prejudices or grudges despite his Leaf heritage and were always polite and hospitable; the family he had stayed with had provided him with everything he had needed and much more, and the constant, bright "Hatake-sama"s that had followed him everywhere he went had reminded him somewhat of his father.

He had found no clues as to the identity or the family of that shinobi he had killed.

Kakashi sighed, greeting a couple of passing chuunin with a polite nod as he turned toward the direction of the hospital. He was not used to having the death of someone, especially someone whose name he did not even know—he had never had the chance to look at the ninja's dog tags because, thank goodness, the man's body had been rigged with explosive tags and he had burst into flame instead of dissolving into blood—affect him so much. Sure, there was his father, Konoha's White Fang who had fallen from grace and had committed seppuku in their kitchen, scarring Kakashi for life; there was Obito, who had given his life—and so much more—for Kakashi so many years ago; there was his sensei, the Yondaime Hokage, who had died fighting the Kyuubi; there was the Sandaime Hokage, who had died in a final confrontation with Orochimaru; and there were so many others: friends, teammates, comrades, lovers.

But they had all had names. They had all been close to his heart and he had loved them all, albeit in the strange, twisted way that only a shinobi of Kakashi's stature was capable of. Which was why he was so confused by this one Rain shinobi, whose name he did not even know, whose _rank_ he did not even know—though jounin was a very good guess—yet he had been haunting Kakashi's nightma—dreams ever since the night he had died at the Copy-Nin's hands.

Stopping before the hospital wing and surveying the damage—mostly structural to the walls, possibly from a stray jutsu—Kakashi stretched slightly, tucking his book away along with any memories of the war. Past was past, after all. Stepping forward, he got to work.

Several hours and some impressive use of his Awesome Jounin Speed and Strength™ later, the sun was high in the sky and Kakashi was on his way to see if any more help was needed, humming lightly to himself as he skimmed the pages of his book. Feeling a distinct ripple of chakra above him, he looked up just in time to see Shiranui Genma and Sarutobi Asuma land lightly on the roof above him and take off again.

Kakashi blinked. What were they in such a hurry for?

"Yo."

Both Genma and Asuma looked up and nodded in acknowledgement toward Kakashi, but neither slowed down. His attention still half-focused on the contents of his book, Kakashi kept smooth pace with them. "Where're you off to in such a hurry?"

Genma stopped. As did Asuma. Kakashi looked up from his book to see them giving him the most annoyed look two high-ranked jounin were capable of giving to an even higher-ranked jounin. Which probably didn't quite have the desired effect, but Kakashi got the message all the same. "Ah…I'm supposed to know that already, aren't I?"

Genma rolled his eyes, long senbon flicking from side to side as he spoke. "You really weren't paying attention to Tsunade-sama yesterday, were you?" he asked, flipping a lock of honey-colored hair nonchalantly over his shoulder.

"Well…" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I got the 'rebuild the western wall' part, and the 'Shikamaru wake up' part…and then I might've gotten a little too absorbed in my book…but I did catch the 'Shizune where the hell is my sake bottle' part at the very end when everyone was dismissed…"

Asuma inhaled deeply on his cigarette, turning his head quickly to blow the smoke in the other direction before turning back to Kakashi. "You're an ass," he said. "What's more important, that book or our village's safety?"

Kakashi's eye curved up into a perfect inverted U. "Well, I would think the answer to that question is obvious." Asuma nodded. "After all, this village'll eventually go out of existence anyway, but Jiraiya-sama's books will always—"

The bearded jounin smacked him. Or rather, attempted to smack him. Kakashi was too good of a ninja to actually let the blow land, ducking quickly down as Genma heaved a heavy sigh. "Back off, you two," he said. "We don't want to make a bad impression on our guests."

Kakashi blinked, straightening again. "Guests?"

"Yes, Kakashi. Guests. That Tsunade-sama spent twenty minutes talking about at the meeting yesterday while you were busy reading porn," Asuma said.

"Basically, a group of Hidden Rain citizens are coming here today," Genma explained. "They're comprised of several important government officials, along with official representatives from the most influential clans in Rain. They'll be spending the next few days here to iron out the last few nitty-gritty details of that peace treaty, and then they'll sign it on behalf of their village."

"Hokage-sama ordered all jounin and chuunin to be at the village gates to give them a proper ceremonial greeting," Asuma said. "Which I believe Genma is leading."

The tokubetsu jounin nodded. "Then Tsunade-sama asked for volunteers to house our guests. And you apparently agreed to do so."

"I did?"

Asuma rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of—she came up and _asked_ you, Kakashi."

"Ah…" Kakashi blinked, mentally rewinding back to the previous evening. _Let's see…porn, porn, Hokage-sama coming up, more porn…oh. _

Now he remembered. The Godaime Hokage had come right up to him, hazel eyes staring right at him as she asked, "And you? Are you up for the mission?"

Whereas Kakashi, not wanting to seem like he hadn't been paying attention because he sure as hell did not want a beating from an angry Sannin, had replied with an affirmative and gone back to his book.

"Oh." Kakashi scratched his head. "So _that's_ what she was talking about."

Genma sighed. "So are you coming or not?" he asked. "And if you are, you'd better put that damn book away."

"Of course." Kakashi pocketed said item before smiling at his two comrades. "Shall we?"

They arrived at the village gates within minutes, pausing atop a nearby roof to survey the new arrivals who were currently gathered just outside the massive walls. Kakashi gave them a lazy once-over. The lot of them were uninteresting; they were divided into two groups: one apparently of the government officials, dressed in traditional robes, and the other of the clan representatives, all having the look of hardened shinobi and dressed in standard-issue Rain ninja uniforms. Kakashi eyed them carefully: most of them were relatively old, probably in their forties and fifties, most likely retired. There were only two younger ones: the first was blond, probably in his mid-thirties, and he was chatting amiably with—

Kakashi's breath caught in his throat.

It wasn't him; it _couldn't_ be him because he was _dead_, for heaven's sake. But there was no mistaking the hair: longer, yes, and pulled into a tight ponytail, but the same shade and the same texture all the same. And the eyes: pools of dark brown, only narrower and containing even more softness. The skin, too: tanned to a dark bronze. The only striking difference was that this shinobi had a horizontal scar across the bridge of his nose.

At that point, the blond said something apparently funny and the brown-haired man broke into hearty laughter, face flushing slightly as he made some witty retort to his companion.

Well. This was certainly going to be interesting.

Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted when Genma stepped forward, falling several meters to land lightly on his feet in front of the Rain group. Instantly everyone quieted as both Rain and Leaf shinobi turned their attention to him.

Removing the senbon from his mouth, he tossed it carelessly into a nearby trash can and cleared his throat. "Citizens of Hidden Rain, I, Shiranui Genma, greet you on behalf of our Hokage and the other villagers of Hidden Leaf. I assure you that we will provide you with the best hospitality Leaf has to offer." He bowed, and the other Leaf shinobi, Kakashi and Asuma included, hurried to follow.

One of the Rain officials, presumably the leader, stepped forward and returned the bow. "We humbly thank you," he said.

"Our Hokage is waiting for you in her tower. You will be debriefed there," Genma said. "So if you would please gather close to me, I can get you there in no time."

The official obediently stepped forward, motioning for the rest of the group to follow him. When they were all gathered in a circle around Genma, the jounin turned to the rest of the Leaf shinobi. "All host volunteers have been summoned as well," he said, eyes settling a little too long on Kakashi. Then his hands flew through seals and in a flash and a puff of smoke the entire group was gone.

Beside him, Asuma sighed, lighting a new cigarette while crushing the old one beneath his sandal. "Better get going then," he said, nodding to Kakashi.

"…Yeah." Asuma blinked, having caught the hint of uncertainty in Kakashi's voice, but by the time he turned around the silver-haired jounin was already gone.


	2. II

**A/N: **Yes, my hiatus has been broken. The website is mostly finished anyway, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to post again. I'm sorry if anyone grew anxious about this story; I assure you that I am alive and well and that I do intend to finish posting this on FFN, so there's no need to worry.

This chapter isn't all that special; it's mostly transitional stuff. I mean, Kakashi and Iruka have to get to know each other just a little before they start snogging, right? XD

Advanced warning: the rating of this story will go up in the future. You'll know when it happens, of course.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far.

**_RAIN MUST FALL:_ CHAPTER II**

Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Hidden Leaf, rose from her seat behind her large wooden desk as soon as the door opened, admitting the new Rain arrivals and their Leaf escorts. Quickly walking around her desk to face the group, she gave a professional nod and took a breath.

"Welcome to Hidden Leaf, honored guests," she said. "I am the Godaime Hokage, and I welcome you to our village."

"We are pleased to be here," one of the government officials answered smoothly. His companions said nothing.

Tsunade nodded. "I'll make this meeting very short since I'm sure you're all tired from your long journey here," she said. "There will be no negotiations today, as I'm sure you would all like some time to get settled." She paused. "Unfortunately, due to the destruction of our guest quarters" –_during the war_ went unsaid— "I am instead having each of you housed with a Leaf shinobi during your stay here. I assure you that all of our ninja are honest and hospitable, and at no time will your well-being or life be in danger."

"We are most grateful, Hokage-sama," the official said.

"Very well," Tsunade said. "Shizune."

The young black-haired woman obediently stepped up, handing Tsunade a scroll which she unrolled and proceeded to read from. "Here are the assignments then. Inukai Hitoshi-san with Yamashiro Aoba. Hasegawa Kinnosuke-san of the Hasegawa clan with Hagane Kotetsu. Gushiken Chuichi-san with Nara Shikaku…"

Tuning out Tsunade's voice until it became a mere drone in the background, Kakashi surveyed the small group from his position at the back of the room. Almost immediately his gaze settled on the ponytailed shinobi, and he felt something twist inside himself at the familiarity. Was it possible? After all, how could he be absolutely sure without asking the man outright?

The ninja straightened suddenly and turned, having sensed Kakashi's gaze. Kakashi did not bother to avert his eyes, and for a moment both shinobi simply stared at each other, one in confusion and the other in curiosity. Then the brown-haired man offered him a small smile and Kakashi felt that whatever-it-was twist again as he saw the face of that ninja, that smile right before Kakashi had slit his throat. He managed to stifle the feeling in time to return the smile with the usual curving up of his eye.

"Umino Iruka-san of the Umino clan…" At that, the brown-haired man blinked and quickly turned back to Tsunade. Kakashi blinked. Umino Iruka, huh?

"…with Hatake Kakashi."

_Oh. Well…shit._

"And Kajahara Miyoko-san of the Kajahara clan with Maito Gai." The blond who had previously been talking with Iruka gave Konoha's grinning Green Beast an apprehensive look as Gai struck what he—and only he—would have thought a gallant pose.

Tsunade lowered the scroll. "Does anyone have any problems with the assignments?"

_Yes,_ Kakashi wanted to say. _Yes, I do. Because I think I might've killed Umino Iruka's twin or brother or fucking _clone_ or something._

Tsunade nodded. "Very well then," she said. "Negotiations will start tomorrow morning at nine. In the meantime, please try to get some rest. I'm sure everyone's tired." She paused before smiling. "Dismissed then."

Instantly the buzz of conversation started up as introductions were made, soon followed by the telltale popping noises as the Leaf shinobi and their guests bamphed out of the room. Kakashi detached himself from the opposite wall and approached Iruka, who was currently standing in the middle of the room, looking unsure of what to do.

"Hi," he said, extending a hand. "Hatake Kakashi."

Iruka blinked before smiling. "Oh, so you're Hatake-san." He took the offered hand. "Umino Iruka. Pleased to meet you."

"Aa." Kakashi shrugged. "Well, I guess we'd better head off. Please follow me, Umino-san."

"Iruka is fine, Hatake-san."

Kakashi laughed. "Then you might as well return the favor, Iruka."

"Done." Together the two shinobi walked out of the room.

* * *

"So," Kakashi said as he and Iruka stepped into the cooling air of late afternoon. "I assume you're here to represent your clan?" 

Iruka nodded. "Technically my uncle's the one who's supposed to be coming, since he's the head of our clan and all," he said. "But he fell sick a few weeks ago, so I got stuck with the job."

"Ah." Kakashi paused just long enough to tuck his book inconspicuously into his vest pocket. "Is your clan powerful in Rain?"

"You could say that." Iruka paused. "We've been dwindling in numbers over the years though; we're less than…twelve or thirteen now, I think. We still have political and military influence, of course, but…" He shrugged. "Well, what can I say. People die on missions, you know?" He laughed, though it sounded a bit forced.

Kakashi was quiet for a moment. "Do you…want to talk about it?" When Iruka made no reply, he hastened to add, "You don't have to if you don't want to, of course. I'm not trying to pry or anything—"

"No, it's all right." Iruka turned from him, smiling rather sadly as he looked up at the darkening sky. "I don't mind." He was quiet for a moment, and Kakashi didn't push him, allowing him to take his time. At long last, though, he spoke. "Well, let's see. I lost my parents on missions long ago—my mother when I was seven, my father when I was twelve. After that, it was mostly just me and Niisan…"

"You have a brother?" Kakashi winced at the haste of his voice.

"Um, yes," Iruka said, giving him a slightly confused look. "My senior by three years. Umino Ichiro was his name. He pretty much raised me after our parents died."

"Ah." Kakashi allowed himself a pause to make his next question seem more casual. "And how is your brother doing?"

"Well." Iruka's eyes instinctively lowered toward the ground. "He…was killed in the war. This war."

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat, but he actually didn't notice it. "What happened?" he asked, voice soft, tentative.

"Stealth team mission," Iruka said. "Near Konoha's borders. I never did find out who killed him."

"Oh." Kakashi forced himself to keep walking at his usual steady pace. "I'm sorry."

There was only silence in reply, and they walked on together without talking for several moments. Suddenly, though, Iruka broke the silence. "It's not like I blame you or your village for it," he said, eyes still glued to the ground. "It was, after all, a mission…but that…that doesn't mean I don't want some sort of peace of mind over this."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "You…want to find his killer."

"I wouldn't ask for revenge," Iruka said. "It's just…I'd like to fight him. For honor, you know? My clan, Niisan, myself…"

"Yes," Kakashi said. "I understand." Again there was silence, and again it was abruptly broken.

"How old are you?"

Iruka nearly tripped and fell flat on his face at the question. "Excuse me?"

Kakashi's eye had curved into a happy crescent. "I asked how old you were."

The Rain shinobi blinked. "Um, twenty-five," he said. "Why does it—"

"Change of subject," Kakashi explained. "And I never was all that great with transitions, so…" He pointed cheerfully at himself. "Twenty-six," he said. "I'm older than you."

"Ah, yes, basic logic could've told me that," Iruka said, giving Kakashi an odd look. "You're not drunk, are you, Kakashi-san?"

"Nope, and please, just Kakashi," the silver-haired jounin replied.

"Are you sure?"

"About being drunk or about my name being Kakashi?" Kakashi asked.

"Uh." Iruka blinked. "How about both?"

"Then yes and maybe," Kakashi said.

"I…see." Iruka cocked an eyebrow. "Remind me exactly why you're a jounin?"

"Charm," was Kakashi's smooth reply. "And how did you know I'm a jounin?"

"Takes one to know one," Iruka said, before smiling. "Plus you've got quite a reputation, Sharingan no Kakashi, Copy-Nin of Konoha."

"Ah." Kakashi laughed. "Want my autograph?"

"No, not particularly," Iruka said. "Though I'll be sure to tell everyone when I get back."

"No one'll listen," Kakashi said, laughing again before coming to a stop. "We're here." A quick bamph and they were standing in front of his apartment door. Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. "I…uh…hadn't really been expecting a guest," he said as he unlocked the door, deactivating the wards and traps with a wave of his hand and a small dose of chakra. "So I'm afraid I'm not really prepared…"

"It's no problem," Iruka said, stepping inside and quickly surveying the surroundings. "Ah…the couch will be just fine."

Kakashi flushed slightly, embarrassed. "All right," he said. "But I'll try to work something out as quickly as possible, really, so…" He winced as he glanced over at his refridgerator. "All I have are leftovers," he said, "So if you don't mind—"

"Actually I ate before I came here," Iruka said, "So you really shouldn't trouble yourself with me."

"Ah, I see, okay." Kakashi paused. "I'll make it up to you, I promise," he said. "How about I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?"

At this, one slim brown eyebrow went up. "Are you asking me out on a date, Kakashi-san?" Iruka asked.

Kakashi grinned. "I could be if you want me to be," he said.

Iruka laughed. "Don't push your luck," he said. "Where's your bathroom?"

"Down the hall, to your left," Kakashi said, smiling, and within a few minutes the entire apartment went dark as both shinobi went to sleep.

* * *

**Parting words:** Please note that Iruka being a jounin does have significance further on in the story; I didn't just randomly tweak it because I felt like it. 


	3. III

**A/N: **Well, we graduated two days ago, so in celebration of this rite of passage, another chapter of RMF.

Not much to say about this chapter, other than it's fun making fun of Gai. XD He's a cool character, but hey, c'mon, his uniqueness is really asking for something.

Since it's summer now, updates might be coming faster. Depends on whether or not I remember though.

**_RAIN MUST FALL: _CHAPTER III**

_Again._

Another _again._ He was there _again._ The other was there _again._ He held the freezing-cold kunai in his hand _again_, and he was going to kill _again._

"Do it," the voice said, amplified, crashing in his ears like the edict of a god. "And don't be sorry."

_Whoosh—slash—drip, drip, drip._ Blood, blood and red and wet and cold and—

Drowning, drowning, flailing, trying to get out but can't fucking _breathe_ and need HELP but no one there, only the other and _drip drip_ and red too much red but don't be sorry but _I'm sorry_ and kakashi and red and wet and _don't be sorry kakashi_ and no help can't breathe _help me_ and _kakashi don't Kakashi don't be SORRY KAKASHI—_

He thought he heard a scream but could not quite be sure, its echoes fading away even as he bolted straight up, body reacting instinctively to the foreign chakra presence hovering over him, grabbing the kunai under his pillow and plunging it forward, forward through thin cloth and thinner bone and warm, warm flesh.

Only when his mind had caught up to his body did Kakashi finally open his eyes, and he nearly screamed (again?). It couldn't be; it wasn't possible—how could that man be alive? But there he was, hovering in front of him, staring at him with startled brown eyes and—

And then the eyes squeezed shut in agony and there came a small, wet cough followed almost immediately by a soft splattering sound, and suddenly Kakashi's sweats were soaked with something warm and wet and he knew it was blood. And then he looked, and saw the scar across the nose, and the single eye that had finally cracked open, peering at him through a veil of pain, and suddenly he remembered.

_Oh, Kami—Iruka!_

Quickly Kakashi withdrew his hand—he knew it wasn't safe to just pull the kunai out right away since he might have severed something vital—and grabbed the Rain jounin by the shoulders, turning him and lowering him onto the bed in his place. Then his hands were searching, searching in the half-darkness of his pre-dawn bedroom for the switch for the lamp on his nightstand, and then for the kunai under his mattress which he used to quickly cut Iruka's white undershirt away, biting his lip as he saw the blood flowing freely from the wound only a little ways down from his right shoulder, barely three inches from his heart.

One of his hands brushed the kunai currently embedded in Iruka's chest and the younger man gave a yelp, body instinctively spasming as his lips reddened with blood once again. Forcing his eyes away from Iruka's face, twisted with agony, Kakashi instead focused on the wound. It did not look to have hit anything vital; might have gotten the lung but he was pretty sure that wasn't the case and so, mentally praying to gods he had never believed in that he wasn't going to screw this up, he reached forward and pulled the kunai out in one swift motion.

Iruka cried out—or rather, sort of half-gurgled, half-choked as the blood was already beginning to clog his throat. He coughed again; Kakashi's white pillow was turning red but he didn't care as he tossed the kunai away and quickly pressed both hands to the wound, concentrating his chakra just as he had been taught to do, channeling it into piecing the broken skin and tissue and trust and everything else the kunai had severed.

Iruka, to his credit, was trying his best not to make too much noise but the pain had to be damn hard to ignore at the very least and he could not keep the cries in, and so Kakashi, without hesitating, without really even thinking even, pressed harder against the wound while leaning forward and covering the other jounin's mouth with his own.

He heard—or rather felt—Iruka make a confused noise at his action, his eyes springing open in surprise before abruptly squeezing shut again as a fresh wave of pain washed over him and he screamed outright, the cry muffled by Kakashi's lips. His legs bucked involuntarily but Kakashi tangled them with his own, pinning him to the bed, forcing him to keep still so that the wound could close up, tasting the first traces of Iruka's blood in his mouth.

It only took a few minutes but it felt like several centuries before Iruka finally gave one last groan into Kakashi's mouth, entire body stiffening for a brief moment before relaxing completely, eyes closing and entire being shutting down. Kakashi pulled slowly away from him, lifting his hands and checking the wound carefully: only an angry red scar remained, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he carefully swapped the blood-stained pillow with a fresh one, tucking the blankets around the sleeping man.

He then proceeded to put his head through the nearest wall, cursing himself quietly as he did so.

* * *

Umino Iruka was a man of habit. His routines were set in stone, and in fact many of his daily activities were so punctual and methodical that some people took to setting their clocks according to his actions.

Therefore, it was like any other morning when the alarm clock rang, waking him groggily from his sleep, and without even really thinking about it he reached into his left pocket, withdrew the small shuriken, and tossed it lazily across the room to where his alarm clock was hanging on the wall, as always. Except…

_Whump._ The ringing didn't stop.

"Mm…?" Opening his eyes and slowly blinking the sleep from them, Iruka peered in confusion at the shuriken currently neatly embedded in the opposite wall, exactly where his alarm clock should have been. Except it wasn't there. It was, instead, sitting on the nightstand beside the bed, still ringing merrily away.

Well, that was weird. He had never put the clock there before; had Hiroshi been sneaking into his room again—

And then his mind finally caught up to him as he caught sight of the two framed photographs sitting neatly beside the little device—which was _still_ ringing, damnit—and immediately recognized the masked face in both.

_Oh. Right. War, treaty, Leaf village, Kakashi, well-aimed kunai. Got it._

Fumbling with the clock, he finally managed to get it to turn off just in time to hear approaching footsteps. Turning, he managed a smile as Hatake Kakashi stepped into the room, holding a steaming plate.

"Ah, good," Kakashi said, single blue eye flicking quickly over to the alarm clock now sitting quietly next to the bed. "For a moment there I was afraid you'd killed it." An eyebrow went up as he noticed the shuriken. "Can't say the same thing for my wall though…"

Iruka blushed. "Sorry, I'll—"

"No, don't worry about it; it needs a patch job anyway." _Especially after I bashed my head through it last night._ "Care for breakfast? I ran down to the store this morning to get these. Freshly scrambled by yours truly." He walked up and carefully took a seat on the edge of the bed, offering the plate of scrambled eggs to Iruka, who without hesitation wolfed down about half.

Kakashi smiled, watching as Iruka ate with unabashed fervor. In this light, he did not look half as much like his bro—that shinobi as before. In fact, Kakashi had to admit he looked rather stunning with his hair hanging down in rich brown locks, his naked upper half only partly covered by the blanket. A sudden image of what delectable bits were underneath the blanket flashed through the silver-haired jounin's head.

_Geh. Get a hold of yourself, soldier._

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Glad to know your strength's back," he said.

"Hm?" Iruka swallowed a mouthful of eggs. "Ah, yes. You healed it pretty well," he said, glancing briefly down at the scar on his chest, which had now receded to a dull pink. "I'm assuming basic medical jutsus are a part of your training?" He made no mention of Kakashi's rather unorthodox way of keeping him quiet.

"Yeah." Kakashi sighed, fixing his gaze on the floor. "Listen, Iruka, I need to apologi—"

"No," Iruka quickly answered. "It was my fault anyway—I should've known better than to sneak up on you like that." He laughed lightly. "I actually thought for a moment that my reflexes were better than yours. Apparently I was wrong, but I did manage to deflect it from my heart."

Kakashi was silent for a moment before asking in a quiet voice, "Why were you there anyway?"

Iruka blinked, taking another bite of the eggs before speaking. "Your chakra was irregular and it woke me up," he said. "I went to check on you, and since you were having a nightmare I tried to shake you awake."

"Shinobi don't have nightmares." Kakashi's voice was cold and lined with hardness.

Iruka sighed, slowly setting the plate aside and turning to glance out the window at the lightening sky. "I know," he said. "It's the same way that genin don't fear death."

There was another long pause before he turned back, fixing his brown eyes on Kakashi. "So are you gonna tell me what it was about? Or am I going to have to get myself stabbed again?"

Kakashi winced, though whether it was in response to what Iruka had said or what he himself was about to say, he could not decide. "It's…just someone I killed a long time ago. Nothing important."

"I see."

Another long pause before Kakashi spoke. "Are you…going to tell them? About, you know, what happened…"

Iruka didn't miss a beat, smiling as he offered the plate back to Kakashi. "Well, the wound's healed and it's not like I'm bleeding all over you, so I see no reason to mention it," he said. "Though…I do need to change. Got to be at that meeting later, after all, so if you don't mind…?"

Kakashi nodded slowly, taking the plate and rising. Walking over to the door, he bent down and tossed Iruka his travel bag. "I'll be right outside," he said, mumbling a soft "Thanks" as he stepped out. If Iruka heard him, the other ninja gave no indication.

It only took a few minutes for Iruka to emerge, dressed in his prim ninja uniform once again, hair bound in the tight ponytail as usual. Kakashi could almost hear the disappoin—no, the calmness, because he damn well was _not_ disappointed to see Iruka fully dressed, no, not at all—in his voice as he said, "Let's go," and they headed out.

They separated at the Hokage's tower with a promise to meet up for dinner. Turning away as Iruka disappeared through the large double doors, Kakashi stretched lightly, going through the plan for the day. He knew he had to go do some more reconstruction work, and he also had to go reserve his advance copy of the latest _Icha Icha_ volume. He also had to stop by the grocery store to stock up his refridgerator if Iruka was to have _anything_ decent to eat during his stay here.

But before all that, he had another, far more important mission to attend to.

* * *

Despite the place being familiar—all too familiar—to him, Kakashi could not help dragging his feet a bit as he made his way slowly up the steps toward the apartment door. It wasn't that he hated coming here, oh no, it was just that…he hated coming here.

Especially when he was about to do something totally unprecedented in Konoha history.

Sighing and taking a deep breath, he raised a fist to knock—the door was abruptly thrown open and Kakashi was nearly blinded by the flash of gleaming teeth, white sparkles, and green spandex that greeted him.

"Ah, my Eternal Rival!"

A sigh. _Here we go._

"Gai."

Maito Gai, Konoha's magnificent Green Beast, gave a howl. "Oh, your hipness is too much, Kakashi!" Kakashi briefly considered pulling his hitai-ate over his other eye to avoid losing that one to the relentless sparkles Gai was currently sending his way. Maybe he could convince a dying Hyuuga to give him the Byakugan to replace it. Sharingan and Byakugan no Kakashi, the Best of Both Worlds. Heh.

"Uh, yes," Kakashi said, trying to focus on something about Gai that _wasn't_ shiny or sparkly. Unfortunately, there wasn't much, so he settled for the eyebrows. Yes, the eyebrows. Because if Gai had sparkly eyebrows, that would just be wrong. "Listen, I need a favor."

"Ah, my most Esteemed Eternal Rival is humbling himself to _me_ for a favor!" Gai boomed out, and Kakashi fought the urge to wince at the sheer volume. "I am truly honored that you, Kakashi, think so highly of me!"

"Yes, yes," the silver-haired jounin said, "It's very simple. I just need to borrow your extra futon for a few days."

"Alas, Kakashi, that I cannot do!" Gai cried, "for I am currently lending my Majestic Futon to my most Honored Guest, whom I regret to say I must treat as even more Esteemed than you as it is for the sake of our village's Eminent Hospitality!"

Ignoring the strange capitalized words and the whole second half of the declaration altogether, Kakashi nodded slowly. "I'm willing to challenge you for it. It's my turn to decide after all, isn't it?"

He saw Gai's face falter a bit and quickly plowed on. "What are we at, fifty-four to fifty-five? Which means that if you win this, we'll be even."

He could almost see the inner gears working in Gai's mind. _Challenge. Honored Guest. Challenge. Honored Guest._

Finally, though, Gai shook his head. "I am very sorry, my most gallant Eternal Rival, but I must refuse," he said, "for the comfort of my most Honored Guest must still rank higher than—"

"A taijutsu match."

Gai, for the first time in his life, stopped in mid-sentence as Kakashi calmly repeated, "I'll challenge you to an all-out taijutsu match for that futon."

For a moment there was silence, first for Gai to process Kakashi's request, and then to consider it. At long last, the Green Beast spoke. "Very well then, my Eternal Rival, you have caught my interest!" he cried. "A taijutsu match it is! And if I lose, I shall—"

"Give me the futon for the next four days," Kakashi said, stepping back to allow Gai room to exit his apartment. "Now let's go."


	4. IV

**A/N: **I just got back from Taiwan today, and I realized I forgot to update this before I left. Heh. So yeah, latest chapter.

The poem/song that Iruka hums is my own personal creation, written a year or two ago, I don't really remember. No stealing.

Nothing else to say. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far; you're the best!

**_RAIN MUST FALL:_ CHAPTER IV**

Umino Iruka walked cheerfully down the street, humming tunelessly to himself as he tilted his head upward, enjoying the last rays of evening. He was in light spirits; the meeting earlier had been little more than a formality, with an extensive (and exceedingly boring) review of the major terms of the treaty, followed by an official assent from each clan representative and village official that the terms were acceptable. After that, it was up to the politicians to negotiate the last few details of the treaty, which would probably take the next few days. In the meantime, Iruka and the other clan representatives were free to go about the village as they pleased.

Stretching muscles sore from sitting in one spot for hours on end, Iruka finally set a melody to his humming, an old Ame folk song and a common traveler's blessing, playing the words smoothly in his head without moving his lips.

_This path, with all its curve and bend,_

_No beginning and no end._

_I see no horizon, only black,_

_But once I step, I can't turn back._

_Dark below and dark above,_

_Secrets the wind whispers of._

_This path is the one I chose,_

_Be it I meet friends or foes,_

_And if it be my destiny_

_I'll walk this path for eternity._

_Watch me as I take this step_

_Without fear, shame, or regret._

_The rivers wide, the mountains high,_

_All beneath the ruthless sky._

_But still I shall prevail._

_So though the wind be bitter cold,_

_And the spirits mourn me as I go,_

_Guide me with all that you know._

_Bless me as I take this road._

Maybe he could teach it to Kakashi. Iruka frowned slightly; he wasn't sure if Kakashi was the type of person to be interested in folk songs. After all, as many of the other shinobi in his village used to say, culture wasn't going to sharpen a kunai or aim a shuriken for you. And how many people would stop to listen to you spew out history or the latest poetry before slitting your throat?

Sliding a hand into his pocket, Iruka gave a polite bow to a passing Leaf kunoichi with long black hair and bright red eyes. He wondered idly if she was a friend of Kakashi.

He stopped, shaking his head slowly and sighing to himself. _Kakashi. Can't you think about anything _other_ than Kakashi?_

_Nope,_ a voice in his head cheerfully answered. _Because you're intrigued by him, and you damn well know it._

Well, there was nothing he could say against that. Iruka had always been careful to be honest with himself, and so he could not deny that he was, in fact, quite intrigued by the aura of mystery surrounding the silver-haired jounin, especially with the mask that Kakashi insisted on wearing everywhere. He did take it off when he slept, as Iruka had noted the previous night, but of course he had been too focused on other things at the moment to really take a good look at Kakashi's face.

That led him to the nightmare—because, no matter how Kakashi tried to deny it, Iruka knew it was a nightmare—that Kakashi had had the previous night. Perhaps that was also another element of the man that interested Iruka, because he was the first jounin that Iruka had met in a long time who still had nightmares.

He wished he knew what Kakashi had dreamt about, Iruka found himself thinking as he finally noted the complete darkness of the sky and decided to take to the rooftops. Perhaps if Kakashi was able to unload some of his burden onto him, Iruka would be able to help him lessen the pain. Of course, it was rather uncommon for a ninja—especially one of Kakashi's standing—to dream about past kills, but then again, Kakashi was no normal ninja. One did not become as feared as Hatake Kakashi if one was only a normal ninja.

Recognizing the scarred grey shingles and sturdy painted wooden walls of Kakashi's apartment complex, Iruka quickly changed direction, pivoting lightly on the edge of a nearby roof and landing smoothly at the bottom of the stairs. Scratching his head and saving his thoughts for another time, he made his way up the stairs and rapped lightly on the door.

There came a rustling sound, followed by a muffled "One minute!" and more rustling as, Iruka guessed, Kakashi hurried to straighten things out. A heartbeat later the door slid open and Iruka found himself facing a now-familiar, vestless, masked jounin.

"Hi," Kakashi said, eye curving happily up.

Iruka sniffed tentatively, catching a whiff of something nice wafting out from the apartment. "Evening. What's that smell?"

"Dinner," Kakashi said, stepping aside to allow Iruka room to pass. "Come on in; I was just finishing up."

Iruka did so, eyes immediately catching on Kakashi's kitchen table. He blinked once. Twice.

The table was covered with food: large plates with the main courses, side dishes, snacks, afterthoughts, everything. The hot plates were still steaming, and two chairs were sitting neatly across from each other on two sides of the table. It looked far too lavish for such a simple apartment.

"Um." Iruka turned. "I didn't know you were expecting guests…"

"Oh no, just you," Kakashi said. "And me, of course. See, I decided that rather than taking you out to dinner, we could have a romantic candlelit feast right here. After that, we can have strawberries and whipped cream for dessert, and then champagne, and then it's on to the bedroom, where I can ravish you, or you can ravish me, whichever you prefer." All spoken without missing a beat.

Iruka flushed from his nose to the tips of his ears. "You can't be serious."

"But I am serious," Kakashi said, smiling, "Well, about some of what I said, anyway. I'm afraid the candles'll have to be electric lights, and dessert will probably end up just being the ice cream I bought on my way home today…but the ravishing part is still an open option!"

A vein popped in Iruka's forehead. "You pervert."

"Why, thank you," Kakashi said, carelessly tapping a bright orange book currently sitting innocently on the nearby counter. "I try my best."

Iruka's eyes widened slightly when he recognized the cover. "You…You _read_ that sh—that stuff?"

"Of course!" Kakashi quipped cheerfully. "Need to have something to do between missions, right?"

Iruka's eyes flicked from him to the book to the table to the book and finally back to him again. At long last, the brown-haired jounin sighed. "Onigiri?" he asked.

Kakashi grinned. "Eel and umeboshi," he said. "Let's eat."

It didn't take long for them to get settled, sitting across from each other with the food spread out invitingly before them. Formalities were taken care of, "Itadakimasu"s were said, and they dug merrily in.

Or at least, Iruka did. Kakashi remained seated as he was for a moment, watching quietly as the scarred jounin broke his chopsticks and snatched some fish. One of Kakashi's hands was curled delicately around his own chopsticks, the other suspended in the air just in front of his mask.

Many people had asked Kakashi why he wore the mask, and he usually alternated between driving people insane, having acne of global proportions and, for the professionals, being unreadable. And while all of those reasons were valid—except, heaven forbid, the second because Kakashi _did_ have some remnants of vanity left—the real reason had been tucked safely away into Kakashi's heart ever since that one fateful night so many years ago.

The night Hatake Sakumo had been disgraced.

Before that horrible mission, Kakashi had always been proud that he had his father's face; the adoring "You look just like your father, Kakashi-kun!"s and "You're Sakumo-sama's son for sure!"s that had permeated his childhood had filled him with warmth.

But after that mission, everything had become cold. And only a few days after the tragedy in the kitchen, Kakashi had rifled through his father's old uniforms until he had found the only one with a mask, and had put it on.

Since then, the mask had never come off, at least not for anyone else to see.

"Kakashi-san?"

Iruka's voice broke into his thoughts and he looked up to see the Rain jounin cocking his head at him, a light blush creeping onto his cheeks. "Surely you're not just going to sit there and watch me eat?"

Quickly Kakashi smiled. "Of course not," he said, and suddenly—whether he willed it or not, he never did figure out—his hand simply reached up and pulled his mask down, baring his face completely to another person for the first time in nearly two decades.

For a moment inner alarm systems began screaming in his head and his fingers twitched, itching to pull the mask back up again, but then Iruka only smiled amiably and returned to his food.

Kakashi blinked. Wasn't there supposed to be a "Whoa" or a "Are you sure about this" or at least a surprised look? Or could it be that Iruka just didn't care, or maybe he didn't even know—

Oh. Kakashi resisted the urge to smack his forehead. Of course Iruka wouldn't know that only a select few people, a number he could count on one hand and most of them dead, had seen his face. Of course Iruka wouldn't know that Kakashi's face had been a mystery in Hidden Leaf ever since he had first put that mask on so many years ago. Of course Iruka wouldn't know, because Iruka was foreign, so he probably thought—

"It's not like I don't know, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi, who had just swallowed his first bite of onigiri, half-choked at Iruka's words. "P-Pardon?"

"Your face," the brown-haired jounin continued, keeping his eyes on his chopsticks as he reached forward to snatch up some chicken. "You're probably thinking to yourself right now that since I'm not from around here, I wouldn't know how you hide your face all the time. You think I don't realize what kind of a privilege you've afforded me."

Almost on reflex, Kakashi's hand moved up toward his mask again, but Iruka reached quickly across the table, grasping his wrist and halting its progress. "Don't," he said. "You look better without it." There was a pause before he gave a timid smile. "Your father's face is nothing to be ashamed of."

Kakashi blinked. "You…knew my father?"

Iruka simply nodded, releasing Kakashi's wrist and settling back down at his end of the table once again. "He partnered with my father on a cooperative mission once," he said. "After it was completed, my father let him stay with us for a while." He paused before locking eyes with Kakashi. "I was really young, so I don't remember much," he said, "But I do remember that he talked about you a lot. Said you were the only one in the family who snored." He chuckled. "He said he was trying to remedy the problem by stuffing a sock in your mouth whenever you started."

Kakashi only stared at him, hand still suspended before his mask, eyes indecisive. Five seconds passed. Ten.

Iruka cocked his eyebrow. "Well?"

And then Kakashi shook himself, rolling his eyes and reaching forward to snag a piece of sushi with his chopsticks. "I didn't snore," he said. "I merely practiced breathing techniques in my sleep."

"Uh-huh." And they both laughed.

Dinner was short work, and before long Iruka found himself yawning in spite of himself as he wiped the table down while Kakashi finished putting away the dishes. "Mm…Kakashi-san?"

The silver-haired jounin turned, and Iruka smiled when he saw that the mask seemed to have no intention of coming back up at the moment. "Hm?"

It's a shame he hides his face all the time, Iruka thought quietly to himself. With that face, he'd probably be able to score with every woman _and_ man in the village. Possibly twice.

_Huh. Wonder if I'm eligible, because I sure as hell wouldn't mind if I was…_

He yawned again. "If you don't mind, I'm kinda tired; I'd like to turn in for the night…" He made an awkward gesture toward the couch.

Kakashi grinned. "Is that so?" he said. "Then you'll have to follow me."

The Rain jounin blinked. "Sorry?"

In a flash the other ninja was beside him, gripping his wrist as he pulled him toward his bedroom. "Follow. Me."

"Eh?" Iruka flushed, trying in vain to pry his wrist out of Kakashi's grasp. "Wait a second—I can't sleep with y—" He blinked as they stepped through the doorway. "Oh."

A large futon had been laid out next to Kakashi's bed. The covering was dark green, as were the blankets and the pillow, and Iruka would have noted how it rather clashed with the patterns of Kakashi's bed had he not been too busy being shocked at the fact that the futon was there to begin with.

Kakashi only smiled. "Yes, I know it looks a little out of place, but it was the best I could get," he said.

Iruka turned. "You bought a futon. For me."

"Ah, not exactly," Kakashi said, smile not fading. "I…borrowed it. Sort of. Cost me a little for it though." "A little" meaning thirteen bruises, a dislocated shoulder, and a broken ankle that the medic-nin had thrown a fit over at the hospital, but for now, the look of pure gratitude on Iruka's face more than made up for it.

"You…" The Rain jounin shook his head slowly. "You really didn't have to do this, Kakashi-san…"

"Well, I promised I'd make it up to you, didn't I?" Kakashi answered cheerfully. "I also took the liberty of moving your personal items into my bathroom. Your outerwear's hanging in the closet, and I folded everything else and put it in the bottom drawer there." He tilted his head slightly toward the dresser.

Iruka sighed as a smile broke out on his face. "If you ever come to visit me back home, remind me that I owe you," he said.

Kakashi cocked his head. "Oh, are you inviting me over, Iruka-san? I didn't think we'd reached that base yet!"

Iruka turned. "Well, seeing as we're _living_ together, I'd have thought we'd passed most of the bases already," he said with a wink, and laughed when Kakashi blushed for perhaps the first time in his life.

* * *

The next couple of days were perhaps the most carefree ones both Hatake Kakashi and Umino Iruka had experienced in a long time. As Iruka had nothing better to do, he often accompanied Kakashi out on his reconstruction projects, returning together to the now-warm apartment at the end of the day, and before long they grew quite close. Their home life was full of warm laughter, random jokes, and the occasional bout of flirtatious banter as both shinobi eventually began to acknowledge and exploit their attraction to each other. It was seldom serious though, and whenever a touch did become too exact, or a look too meaningful, one of them always found a way out.

Kakashi's dreams eventually faded away.

Iruka did not love Kakashi. They were ninja from two different villages, and both jounin, no less. One of them was bound to die in the future, and even if that didn't happen, they would never be able to be together.

Kakashi did not love Iruka. Anybody he had ever loved had died or, at the very least, gone insane. Besides, _Icha Icha_'s definition of love was a far cry from what he and Iruka had at the moment.

They were not in love. They _could not_ be in love, because it would never work out. They were not in love.

At least, that was what they constantly told themselves.

A bright, sunny morning on the third day of Iruka's stay found the two jounin relaxing comfortably in Kakashi's kitchen. Iruka was leaning against the cold counter, sipping his morning coffee, and Kakashi was seated at the table, munching away on a waffle in one hand while he held _Icha Icha Paradise_ in the other.

Iruka smiled softly to himself as he watched the other man. Kakashi was now completely comfortable with leaving his mask down at home, even with Iruka around, and the brown-haired jounin was glad for that, glad that Kakashi put so much trust in him, glad that he was deserving of such confidence.

"If you're naughty, go to your room."

Iruka looked up. "What?"

Kakashi turned, grinning. "If you want to _be_ naughty, go to my room."

Iruka blanched. "What the hell!"

The silver-haired jounin laughed, waving his book nonchalantly in the air before him. "Saa…and I thought it would work too."

Iruka glared, fighting down the blush that threatened to spread across his face. "How cheesy _is_ that book?"

"Mm, I don't know, pretty bad," Kakashi said, turning a page. "Ah, here's another one. My bed is broken. Can I sleep in yours?"

Iruka made a face. "I can't believe Jiraiya-sama _writes_ that stuff."

"Yeah, wonder where he gets his ideas?" Kakashi skimmed over a few more pages. "Ah. Wanna play fireman? We can stop, drop and roll."

"We can play fireman when I burn that book," Iruka said, taking a deep whiff of his coffee and closing his eyes.

"My hands are cold. Can I stick them down your pants to warm them?"

A vein popped in Iruka's forehead. "Kakashi—"

"Oh, here's a nice one. Save water, shower with a friend."

The vein grew even bigger. "Kakashi, that is _totally_—"

"Let's play pool," Kakashi said, looking up and giving Iruka a lecherous grin. "We'll use your stick and balls, and my hol—hey!"

Iruka had disappeared, along with the book. "You," the Rain jounin said from the corner of the kitchen, face red as he held the book at arm's length, other hand coming up to pull an explosive tag out of his vest, "Are the _biggest_ pervert on the face of this_ entire goddamn plan_—"

He never got to finish because Kakashi shot up, diving over the table and toward Iruka, hand reaching out to save the book. Iruka, luckily, jumped away on reflex and bolted down the hallway, Kakashi in hot pursuit. A mad, five-second chase around the apartment resulted until Kakashi finally managed to corner Iruka, wrestling briefly with him before finally pinning him against the wall, both of them sinking to the floor. The book fell rather unceremoniously to the ground with a decisive _whump. _

Iruka sighed, trying to catch his breath as he pushed up against Kakashi who was strangely resistant. "All right, fine, you win," he said, pushing harder, "No book burnings. You can let me up now—"

"No." At this, the Rain jounin blinked, trying to crane his neck to look at Kakashi's face, but the older man only tightened his grip around Iruka's waist, his other hand seeking out Iruka's and entwining their fingers together. "Please," Kakashi whispered. "Just for a little while…let's stay like this."

Iruka froze, half of him—the half that had gotten him out of situations like these before, and was more than willing to do so again—wanting to brush the comment aside and push Kakashi off of him. But that half was feeling strangely acquiescent today, and before Iruka was even fully aware of it he was wrapping his arms around the other jounin, bringing him into a close embrace, resting his forehead lightly on Kakashi's shoulder.

He heard Kakashi let out a surprised breath; he had probably been expecting Iruka to push him away too, but then he shifted to gain more leverage, pressing Iruka more firmly against the wall. They stayed like that for a long moment, each quietly and contentedly lost in the other, until a faint tapping noise caught Iruka's attention. Looking up, he frowned when he caught sight of the feathery white blur currently hovering before the window.

Sighing, he lifted his head, pressing lightly against Kakashi's shoulders to encourage him to rise. "Hey." He applied more pressure when Kakashi showed reluctance to move. "Hey, come on, I'm being _summoned_, Kakashi."

At this, the silver-haired jounin released him, turning to send a death glare in the direction of the messenger bird. Said avian, blissfully ignorant of how close it currently was to being impaled on a kunai, continued beating its wings against the glass windowpane, calling urgently.

Very slowly, Kakashi rose to his feet, extending a hand to Iruka. "Then…I guess you'd better get going," he said, voice quiet.

Iruka took the offered hand and allowed Kakashi to pull him to a standing position, but then he tightened his grip on Kakashi's hand, pulling the jounin close. Kakashi had the dignity not to draw a kunai at the sudden movement, and felt goosebumps erupt on his neck and down his back when he felt Iruka's warm breath playing on the inner curve of his ear.

"I'll come back…as soon as I can," Iruka whispered, his breath tickling Kakashi's ear. There was a sudden warmth on Kakashi's cheek and the jounin jumped in response, but by the time he had turned his head Iruka had already gone in a flurry of water and cold air.

Standing alone in the middle of his bedroom, Hatake Kakashi took a slow, shaky breath, one hand sneaking up to touch his cheek, still tingling from the stolen kiss. He decided right then and there that he would bypass reconstruction that day. After all, he had a lot to tell Obito and his sensei now.

* * *

**A/N: **Was originally going to be shorter, but I added the last bunch because I felt that ending on the bases thing sounded sort of awkward...


	5. V

**A/N: **I'm sorry it's been so long since my last update. The construction workers next door cut through our cable line, so I'm stuck with dial-up at the moment, and it's impossible to upload anything with a connection like that. I'm at my mom's office right now with my laptop, though, which means a new chapter for you! Let's all pray that I get my cable back soon. XD

Well, there isn't much to say about this chapter. Just some snuggling and stuff for my own personal inner fangirl. The next chapter should be much more exciting; I think that's the one with the battle.

This story is already more than halfway over, I think. Yeah, it's rather short, but it's my first chapter fic, after all. I have others though, so if you like this one, you can catch them at their respective debuts.

Hope you're all having a wonderful summer vacation!

**_RAIN MUST FALL: _CHAPTER V**

It was relatively common for Kakashi to lose track of the time whenever he chose to give his old teammates and his sensei the latest news, and so he was not surprised to find that the sun was just touching the horizon when he finally found himself heading back to his apartment. He sighed quietly as he walked, inconspicuously stretching muscles sore from standing for so long under the pretext of turning the pages of his book. He had broken the record today: nearly ten hours standing out there on the grass, quietly contemplating the silent black stone. He was usually quite talkative, telling Obito and the Yondaime every detail of his latest missions, no matter how confidential, along with the most recent news blurbs, random conversations he had had, the progress of his (now dismantled) genin team, the latest developments in _Icha Icha_.

Today, though, he had been uncharacteristically silent. Maybe it was because he was feeling too confused to piece together enough thoughts for a decent conversation, or maybe it was because he knew Obito was probably laughing his head off from the other side at Kakashi's clumsiness with these sorts of things, or maybe it was because his skin was _still_ warm from that kiss—he didn't know, but he had mentally apologized to his fallen friends for his silence and had headed home without saying a word.

It was a fling, Kakashi told himself as he headed up the stairs, casually putting his book away and digging into his pockets for his keys. Iruka was nice, and attractive, and oh-so-enticing with his hair down, but he was just a temporary fling. Something that got you going for a little while and then, a week later, was promptly forgotten in favor of the next package of hormones.

And there was also the problem of Umino Ichiro.

Kakashi sighed as he unlocked his front door, shedding his sandals and stepping into his apartment. He had not asked Iruka anything more about his brother during his stay here; he had already stretched the boundaries enough that first day. But if his suspicions were correct, and the shinobi he had killed in the war was indeed Iruka's brother, then by a promise they had both made to themselves they would have to fight each other. And Kakashi didn't want to face the pain of that possibility.

Because for right now, Iruka was all he had. And even if the Rain jounin was going to have to leave sooner or later, even if this really was nothing more than a temporary fling, Kakashi was determined to hold on to him as long as he could. And so, though a small voice in the back of his mind constantly nagged about how this was lying, how he was betraying not only Iruka but himself and the promise he had made, he kept his mouth shut, and the subject of Ichiro never came up between him and his charge.

Of course, he would have to spill the truth sooner or later, Kakashi told himself as he shed his vest, tossing it carelessly onto a nearby chair as he headed into the kitchen. After all, Iruka was a jounin, and jounin were perceptive. And besides, he couldn't hide something like this forever—

"Whoa."

Kakashi blinked, all thoughts flying from his mind as he walked into the room and beheld the sight before him. Half of his mind instantly began chastising him for not noticing Iruka's chakra presence earlier, nagging at him about how a ninja, especially a jounin, should always be alert and wary of intruders, especially in his own home, because one never knew if an assassin was going to choose to strike where striking was easiest, which would be—

The other half effectively shut the first half up by helpfully supplying him with the name of every exotic dish currently laid neatly out on the small kitchen table. Tempura. Magurodon. Hamachi kama. Takoyaki. Unagi. Kaki no shiokara. Ami no shiokara. And a rainbow of sashimi, among other things.

Iruka turned upon his entrance, smiling amiably. "Just in time," he said. "Better dig in quick, or it'll all get cold."

"Uh—what—you—eh?" The exclamation was a half-hearted attempt at "What the hell're you doing?" confused with random inner spiel, and Kakashi's single eye flicked quickly back and forth between the table and Iruka.

The Rain jounin only smiled. "I got home early," he said, "So I decided to make you something. I'm only good with seafood dishes, and a lot of the recipes are native to my village, so eat up and tell me what you think."

Kakashi finally collected enough of his thoughts for a cohesive sentence. "Why?" It was only one word, but it was a start.

Iruka's smile did not fade. "Just a quick thank you for your hospitality," he said as he beckoned Kakashi to the table. "Now c'mon, I'm not kidding when I say it'll cool real fast."

Kakashi, deciding that he had had enough thinking for one day, did as he was told.

Dinner was a quick affair, eaten in amiable silence. Later, however, when they were putting the dishes away together, Kakashi asked the dreaded question. "You're leaving soon, aren't you?"

Iruka paused in his work, a plate half-perched on the cupboard shelf. "In two days," he answered, equally quiet, refusing to meet Kakashi's gaze. "We were summoned this morning to go over the final treaty, and we'll all officially sign it tomorrow. The morning after that…we're going home."

Kakashi did not answer for a long time, and when he finally did, his voice was soft, resigned. "Let's go to bed," he said, and they did.

* * *

Left. Right. Left. Right. One terrified step after another as the darkness broke in waves before him, as his feet carved a flaming dark path toward _him._ _Him._

_Do it._

And he didn't, but he did.

_And don't be sorry._

And he wasn't, but he was. More sorry than he had ever been, now that he knew.

_Drip, drip, drip. Do it and don't be sorry._

The darkness parted like a black curtain before his eyes, and he saw him, that man, lying back, bleeding _again_, waiting for him _again._ And the kunai fell _again_, and he killed him _again._

Blood, and red, and endless endless darkness. And the dripping of the kunai in his hand, and the dripping of the shinobi before him. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark, dark, dar—

Iruka.

_What?_

And there he was, lying before him, with the cruel _dripdrip_ and the screaming red. Dark hair, dark eyes, black eyes, _dead eyes—_

"Iruka?"

It was a first; there was no _again._ His voice crashed in the deep, faraway thunder that scared even himself. And Iruka looked up, eyes dead, scared.

"Help me." The words were whispered, pleading. Kakashi.

Help me help _save SAVE HIM—_

He leaped forward, but the darkness rushed in, and the red and the blood and the wet. And suddenly he was drowning again, a vast sea of blood, cold that crept up his legs and his spine and down his throat, clawing, choking, strangling, suffocating—

"Iruka! Iruka!" But it was no use, and the cold wetness clawing at his chest, his heart pounding, blood inside and blood out—

"Iruka!"

And then Iruka turned, his eyes cold, black, utterly dead. And he made no move, but the voice came, and with it, the last harsh words.

"You killed him. And now you will die."

* * *

Umino Iruka awoke with a jolt, drifting in utter confusion in that state suspended between dream and reality for a brief moment before another chakra disturbance disrupted the field around him, bringing him to full alertness. Lifting his head, he peered carefully into the darkness, immediately sensing for intruders, hand reaching underneath his pillow for a kunai.

Another unsteady flicker of chakra, followed by a rustling sound to his right, and he turned his head immediately toward Kakashi's bed. The lump underneath the covers shifted, and a soft groan was heard.

Suddenly he knew. "Oh, no—" Quickly the jounin sprang lightly off of the futon, making his way quickly over to Kakashi's bed. The Leaf jounin was thrashing beneath the blanket, hands clawing desperately at the sheets as he sank deeper and deeper into his nightmare.

Iruka frowned; he had never seen Kakashi so disturbed before, not even that first night. Was it different this time? Was it—

"Iruka…"

The younger man blinked, suddenly realizing that the strange glisten on Kakashi's bare cheeks was coming from the moonlight reflected off of his tears. Tears.

"Iruka, Iruka…"

Kakashi was crying for him.

Very slowly, Iruka took a deep breath and inched his hand forward toward the still-thrashing jounin. Kakashi had long since removed both kunai from the bed to avoid another unfortunate accident, but that didn't mean he would be harmless, and Iruka was not about to take his chances, especially when Kakashi was this distressed.

He touched a pale shoulder, and that was all it took—suddenly Iruka found himself lying face-up on the bed, the tall figure of Kakashi leaning over him, one hand keeping his wrists pinned above him, the other wrapped around his neck and ready to crush his windpipe in an instant.

Iruka, to his credit, knew better than to struggle. Instead, he only lay where he was, staring steadily up at Kakashi, waiting.

Both of Kakashi's eyes were unfocused, the Sharingan spinning erratically even as involuntary tears continued to leak out of both. The jounin was breathing hard, each breath short and hitched and desperate, and Iruka felt the hands on him spasming with confusion.

And then suddenly the Sharingan eye closed, and the blue eye focused, and the tears stopped, and Kakashi blinked in recognition as his breathing calmed somewhat. Iruka thought it safe to speak at last. "It's me," he said, trying his best to smile reassuringly despite the fact that he was apt to be suffocated at any instant. "Kakashi, it's me."

He had expected Kakashi to realize the situation and let him up, or to apologize, or to at least have the sense to feel embarrassed. Therefore, he was utterly unprepared when Kakashi simply released his hold and then let himself fall forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Iruka and pressing them both into the mattress.

Iruka jumped, unsure of what to make of this sudden turn of events, returning the embrace on reflex even as he asked in alarm, "What happened?"

But Kakashi only shook his head, tightening his grip on Iruka and burying his face in his shoulder. His entire body was shaking, and Iruka frowned. "Kakashi, what did you dream about?"

The other man's voice was shaky, scared. "You died," Kakashi whispered. "You died, and there was so much blood…"

Iruka stiffened at this, but Kakashi just kept going, mumbling quietly almost to himself. "You were calling for me…I tried to go to you but—but there was just too much blood…I—I was drowning in it…" And he made a noise that Iruka strongly suspected was a choked sob.

That did it; it was the vulnerability, the nakedness of Hatake Kakashi that finally did it, and Iruka gently rolled them over so that they were both lying on their sides. He then gathered Kakashi to him like a child, the words flowing smoothly out of his mouth. "Shh," he whispered, pressing a kiss to Kakashi's temple. "You've had a long night. Go to sleep."

Kakashi shook his head, burrowing into Iruka's chest and holding him almost in a strangle-hold. "No," he said. "It'll happen again…"

"No, it won't," Iruka said, gently rubbing soothing circles on Kakashi's back. "Not while I'm here. Just go to sleep, and we'll talk in the morning."

"Can't," Kakashi whispered. "Can't…not again. Please, Iruk…ah…" The last syllable was lost as Iruka's fingers finally sought out the pressure point at the back of Kakashi's neck, pressing it gently and lulling the other man into unconsciousness.

Listening as Kakashi's breaths slowly evened out, Iruka sighed quietly to himself as he brought Kakashi even closer, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. He'd deal with this in the morning.


	6. VI

_**(Edit 6/26/07)**__**Eden Evolution has crashed, so at the request of a reader I put up the entire chapter here, including the slightly limey part. FFN, do your worst.**_

**A/N: **This should be the second-to-last chapter. I know it's been a while since my last update; life got to me, let's just say.

The rating for the story has been bumped up because of some limey content in this chapter. I edited the mature content out, though, as per FFN regulations; the original uncut version is available on my recently-debuted fanfiction website, Eden Evolution. The link is in my author profile.

For those lucky butts out there who are still enjoying their summer vacation, hope this chapter brings you some entertainment. For those poor unlucky bastards like me who have already started school, hope this brightens up your day a bit…

_**RAIN MUST FALL:**_** CHAPTER VI**

Hatake Kakashi awoke with the feeling that it was warm. Too warm. Mind immediately coming alert at the new environment, Kakashi took a moment to lie where he was, careful to keep his chakra levels normal to feign sleep as he quickly analyzed his surroundings with his eyes closed. He recognized the bed he was lying on as his own, so either someone had moved the bed with him still in it, or someone had broken into his apartment while he had been asleep. Unlikely in either case.

Shifting slightly to gain a better chakra field, Kakashi nearly jumped when he realized there was a heavy weight currently lying almost on top of him, part of it looped loosely across his chest and right shoulder. A trap of some sort? He could feel part of it curled about his left leg as well; something to prevent him from moving—

And then the trap shifted and made a sleepy groan, tightening its hold on him, and suddenly Kakashi recognized the aura and instantly opened his eyes, staring down in disbelief as Iruka, still very much asleep, shifted again, snuggling even closer into Kakashi's neck.

Kakashi's first instinct at the situation would probably have ended up with Iruka getting a couple more scars. However, the memory from the previous night surfaced at about the same time as the instinct, effectively squashing it so that, rather than throwing a fit and launching several kunai in self-defense, Kakashi only sighed, slowly bringing a hand up to brush some of Iruka's hair out of his face. Iruka let out a breath at this, eyelids fluttering slightly as his jounin senses responded to the touch, but Kakashi quickly channeled some chakra into him, calming him and putting him back to sleep again for the moment.

Lying back, Kakashi leisurely stroked Iruka's hair as he remembered briefly to last night's dream. He didn't think he had ever felt such naked fear in his life. Sure, there had been that time when his father had been declared MIA and Kakashi had not slept for the three days it took Hatake Sakumo to drag his broken body back to Konoha; there had been that time when he had accidentally stabbed Obito with a kunai and had thought for sure that his teammate—friend would die; there had been that time when Sensei had been fighting Kyuubi and Kakashi had been forced to watch from a distance as the explosions and smoke from the battle filled the sky.

But none of those compared to the cold fear he had felt when he had seen Iruka's dead eyes. He had never felt so helpless, never been so reduced to pure emotion in his life, and it scared him. It scared him because he had felt that he would die if Iruka did. This in itself was totally new for him, because in all the other deaths in his life he had always felt the need to live on, to survive and thus carry on the memories of those who had fallen. Even with old lovers, he would have—_did_ live on. But with Iruka…he would not. He could not. And he knew why.

Contrary to popular belief, Kakashi was no stranger to love. He had had his share of lovers, some less endearing than others, and eventually he had found someone: a chuunin from Hidden Grass. Kind, compassionate and endlessly patient, he had been the perfect match for Kakashi, and they had been happily together for almost two years, meeting whenever they could, on missions and off.

When he died, Kakashi had really, truly cried for perhaps the first time since the death of his Sensei.

It was the same with Iruka, Kakashi realized. The Rain jounin was patient, sympathetic, and so very understanding. With him, Kakashi could drop his masks—both figurative and literal—and have no fear of rebuke. With Iruka, he felt _safe_—safer than he had ever been.

Shifting his hand, Kakashi slowly allowed one finger to run down Iruka's cheek. He was in love with Iruka; he knew that now. And it was even different from that love he had had for that Grass chuunin, because even after his death, Kakashi had still gone on. But with Iruka, if he died, Kakashi would—

The alarm clock rang, loud and clear and obnoxious in the silence of the early morning, and on reflex Kakashi reached up and slapped it. It was too late, of course; with a slight stir and a yawn, Iruka came awake, rubbing sleepily at his eyes as his mind cleared enough for him to realize where he was. Kakashi watched quietly as those brown eyes finally focused, sweeping quickly over the rumpled blankets, lingering for a moment on his face, and then finally up to the alarm clock.

Presently he yawned again, collapsing back down onto Kakashi's chest. "Why do you always set that damn thing so early?" he grumbled, scratching at the scar across his nose.

"Um." Kakashi blinked. "Aren't you supposed to…freak out and run off or something?"

"Mm?" Iruka looked up for a moment before smiling. "Well, I'm too tired in the mornings to freak out. And as for running off…it's warm here, and it's cold there. So I'm not leaving…'less you want me to?" The last few words were said as a question, and Iruka began to rise.

Almost on reflex Kakashi reached up, grabbing him and pulling him back down, drawing the blankets more closely about their bodies. "No," he said, "Stay with me for a while."

Iruka grinned, not at all uneasy at the fact that their legs were currently comfortably entwined. "Feeling better this morning?"

"Mm-hm." Kakashi sighed. "Sorry I freaked out on you last night. Haven't dealt with something like that in…well, never, I guess."

At this, Iruka laughed. "Trust me, Kakashi," he said, "If I dreamed that I was dying, I'd be pretty damn scared too."

"That's not the point," Kakashi said, though he still found himself smiling.

"I know." Iruka stretched lightly before bringing an arm up to cover his eyes. "Glad you didn't kill me."

"Me too."

One brown eye peeked inquisitively out from underneath the arm before Iruka simply smiled and hid it again. "Damn…your Hokage told me to be at the tower as soon as possible this morning. Do you think four o'clock's pushing it?"

"With Tsunade-sama? Most definitely. You'll be lucky if she's even out of bed. And it's generally not a good idea to bother her when she's sleepy."

"Mm. Not a morning person?" Iruka asked.

"Trust me, I know from experience." Kakashi grinned.

"Poor thing." Jokingly patting Kakashi's cheek, Iruka sprang out of bed, pulling on a light jacket.

"Where're you going?"

"Breakfast." He turned. "Want anything?" And Kakashi smiled. It was a sad smile though, because a name had surfaced in his mind right at that moment.

_Umino Ichiro._

Breakfast was quick, and after dressing and taking care of all their various morning habits, Kakashi found himself bidding farewell to Iruka as the other jounin exited the apartment. Watching quietly as the door closed behind the brown-haired man, Kakashi heaved a heavy sigh, sinking down into the nearest chair and pressing a hand to his forehead.

He would have to tell Iruka. There was no way out of it now.

* * *

"Gushiken Chuichi-san."

Iruka watched passively as the last of the government officials stepped up, obediently taking the pen from Tsunade and signing his name in the appropriate section. When he retreated, Tsunade casually passed her hand over the signature, embedding it permanently into the document with chakra.

The Godaime Hokage then turned to the clan representatives, standing in a small group off to the side. "If you would advance, please, as your name is called," she said, picking up the pen again. "Fujimaki Naomi-san of the Fujimaki clan." A slim woman in her mid-forties, with streaks of gray in her otherwise black hair, stepped forward and signed.

"Takekawa Sharaku-san of the Takekawa clan." One of Iruka's father's close friends stepped forward.

Iruka sighed, turning his head just enough to watch as the sun faded into the horizon, wondering idly where Kakashi was, and whether or not he was all right. He had seemed fine that morning, but Iruka had known a lot of people who had "seemed fine" and then had been found the next day splattered on the rocks below their apartments, or hanging from rolled bedsheets attached to the ceiling.

"…and Umino Iruka-san of the Umino clan." Iruka stepped mechanically forward, taking the pen with a nod of assent from Tsunade and signing quickly before retreating back into the ranks.

Tsunade nodded as she rolled the scroll up, sealing it. "That does it for the treaty then," she said, "Unless there are any last objections to the terms?"

"None, Hokage-sama," the head of their group said, bowing.

Tsunade smiled. "Then I wish you the best of luck on your way back to your village," she said. "Dismissed."

Iruka nodded and turned to leave, but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he blinked once before managing a smile. "Hey, Miyoko."

Twenty-five-year-old Kajahara Miyoko grinned, running a hand backward through his blond hair as he steered Iruka out the door. "Glad to be getting home?"

"Of course."

Miyoko stretched, looking up at the darkening sky as they walked out of the building. "You don't seem all that enthusiastic."

Iruka smiled; his friend had always been perceptive. "It's nothing, really."

"Oh, please." Miyoko rolled his eyes. "You're the clingyest person I know, Iruka. You got attached to this village, didn't you?"

"Well…" Iruka shrugged. "Not as much the village as one person in particular, I suppose. Though the ramen here is great."

Miyoko laughed. He was a jounin also, and had been friends with Iruka ever since their academy days. He was also one of the few people in Iruka's life who had not died on missions. Yet.

"I thought you'd say that," he said, before pausing. "Hey, there's that ramen stand right now. How 'bout I treat you?"

Iruka shook his head. "I've gotta be back…" And then he smiled. "But takeout would be fine. Two shares for me."

Miyoko raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so it's that Kakashi fellow you've gotten attached to, eh?" He laughed when a blush rose to Iruka's face. "Oh c'mon, I'm not that dense," he said. "I see you guys together all the time—oi, mister, three bowls of pork ramen to go!" They took a casual seat at the ramen stand.

Iruka sighed, scratching at the scar across his nose. "I'm a little worried about him, I'll admit," he said. "Kakashi seems a little…unbalanced."

"Name a jounin who isn't," Miyoko said, before his expression sobered and he said in a low voice, "But just let me say something, Iruka."

The brown-haired jounin raised an eyebrow, an indication for him to continue, and so Miyoko did. "Now I don't know if it's just friendliness or attraction, and frankly, I don't really care. But either way, you've gotta work on letting this guy go."

Iruka sighed, tugging at his ponytail. "I know, I know," he said.

"It's a bad idea," Miyoko said. "Now I'm not saying I don't like Kakashi—he looks like a good guy, if a bit perverted with that book of his. But you have to remember that he's Leaf, and you're Rain. Plus you're both jounin, so you definitely know one of you's going to die eventually. And long-distance relationships just don't work, no matter if you're from different villages or different worlds."

His friend winced. "I know."

"I know you do," Miyoko said. "And you also know that, even though this war's over and done with and we're officially allies again, that's not going to stop another conflict from coming up in the future. And if it does, what're you gonna do?"

Their order arrived at that point, and Iruka instantly grabbed his bag, rising from his seat and turning. "I'll take my chances," he said. "See you tomorrow." And he walked away.

A few minutes later, he was at the foot of the stairs leading up to Kakashi's apartment. Mounting them one by one, Iruka allowed a soft sigh to escape his lips. Miyoko had been right, of course, no matter how much Iruka had wanted it not to be so. In fact, everything he had said had been things Iruka himself had gone over countless times during these last few days.

But there was one thing Miyoko did not know. He did not know the real reason why Iruka had allowed himself to become attached to Kakashi: it was because Kakashi knew something about his brother.

Ever since that first night, when Kakashi had displayed an unusual amount of interest in Ichiro, Iruka had suspected that the jounin was somehow connected to his death. Now whether Kakashi was only trying to protect a friend, or whether he was under orders, Iruka didn't know and he didn't care. All he cared about was that Kakashi knew something, and so Iruka had let his guard slip just enough to grow close to the other jounin in the hopes of gaining some inadvertent information about Ichiro's killer.

He had just never expected to fall in love with Kakashi in the process.

Iruka had been in relationships before; he was a kind person and therefore opened his heart readily to other people. However, most relationships he'd had in the past had been the "one date, two dates, three dates, screw" type; none had lasted more than a couple of months, and he was still friends with most of them. But with Kakashi, Iruka knew he was in love. It was a heavy feeling in his heart, almost like a weight but also strangely light, and it was something that Iruka wanted, had, but also knew he shouldn't keep.

Because Miyoko was right: he and Kakashi were from different villages, different _countries_, and their loyalties would inevitably be strained. And jounin always died on missions; it was almost an unspoken shinobi rule.

Plus he was running out of time, Iruka thought to himself as he finally reached the top of the stairs, walking slowly toward Kakashi's front door. He was going to leave the next morning; he would have to confront Kakashi about Ichiro tonight, or he would never—

The door opened just as Iruka had been reaching for the spare key. The Rain jounin jumped, hand flying to his kunai holster on reflex before he recognized the masked face currently watching him with a tired expression. Relaxing his fingers, he managed a smile. "Kakashi. You startled me."

The Leaf jounin said nothing, and Iruka shifted uncomfortably under his steady gaze. Finally, he lifted the plastic bag he had been holding as a form of distraction. "Brought takeout," he said. "It's from that Ichiraku Ramen place. Hope you don't mind, I'm a pretty big fan of—"

This time he did draw a kunai when Kakashi sprang forward. For a moment they stayed suspended, Iruka's hand holding the kunai pressed against Kakashi's throat, Kakashi's fingers wrapped around Iruka's hand, the one holding the takeout bag which had long since fallen forgotten to the floor.

At long last, Kakashi sighed, slowly releasing Iruka's hand and bending down, picking up the bag and placing it on a nearby table inside the apartment. Finished with that, he turned back to Iruka who was still clutching the kunai warily.

"I need you to come with me," he said, voice neutral, deadpanned.

When Iruka made no move, Kakashi sighed again. "It's nothing bad." _For now._ "It's just…I have something important I need to tell you, but I can't do it here."

Iruka watched him, indecisive. Could it be a trap? He knew that he and Kakashi were friends, but they were also ninja, and jounin at that. He wouldn't put it above Kakashi to lure him that way—

And then Kakashi glanced quickly around before finally reaching up and pulling down his mask. "Just trust me this once, okay?"

And Iruka nodded before he was even fully aware of it. Stepping back, he pocketed the kunai and allowed Kakashi to step out of his apartment and lock the door, setting the traps and wards before he turned, replacing his mask. "Follow me," he said, and leaped off. Iruka barely had time to do the same.

As he bounded over the rooftops of the village, barely able to distinguish the dark green Konoha vest from the darkness in front of him, Iruka found himself gritting his teeth. What was Kakashi going to do? Was he going to betray Iruka? Well, if it really was a trap, Iruka would be ready, that was for sure.

They entered the trees, and within about a mile or so Kakashi suddenly disappeared from his line of sight. Immediately Iruka flipped over the next tree branch, falling several meters and landing smoothly on his feet in the middle of—the training field?

The Rain jounin blinked. They were indeed standing in a large, grassy clearing designed specifically for sparring, with three wooden shuriken posts off to the side and a large black stone—Konoha's memorial stone—a mere dark shape in the distance.

Turning, he blinked at Kakashi in confusion. "Why are we here?"

The Leaf jounin made no reply. He was currently facing away from Iruka, hands in his pockets, body turned in the vague direction of the memorial stone. One hand was hidden in his pant pocket, but the other was hanging loosely at his side and Iruka frowned when he noticed that it was shaking. What was going on?

Very slowly, he stepped forward. Maybe this had something to do with Kakashi's dream last night. Maybe he really wasn't as "fine" as Iruka had thought. Maybe—

"Exactly five months and twenty-eight days ago," Kakashi said, stopping Iruka in his tracks, "I was sent on a mission during the war."

Iruka's hand, which had previously been raised, dropped limply to his side. Five months and twenty-eight days. That would have been early May—the eighth of May, the night that Ichiro had—

"I was ordered to steal a top-secret scroll from Rain's front lines," Kakashi continued, voice even, toneless. "And I did it. Then I headed back to Konoha."

Iruka swallowed hard. "Kakashi—"

"But when I was just crossing Konoha's borders, I was attacked by a Rain team," Kakashi said, plowing smoothly over him, still refusing to turn around. "We fought, naturally, and I killed them all. Except for the leader."

This time, Iruka made no answer. Kakashi took a deep breath, willing his voice not to tremble. "I never got his name, or even his rank. All I knew was that he was the leader, he was a Rain shinobi…and he looked just like you."

He felt a slight flare of chakra from behind him as some of Iruka's emotion escaped, but there was no sound from the other man and so Kakashi continued, speaking slowly. "He asked me to kill him. Told me not to be sorry." He took a deep breath. "And so I slit his throat."

Still Iruka was silent, and Kakashi finally turned around. The Rain jounin was standing stock still, body trembling as if with fever, head lowered so that nothing could be seen of his face. Kakashi's heart twisted in on itself, but he forced himself to stay calm as he said, "I know I should have told you sooner, and I'm sorry…about everything. I know you can't forgive me, but still, I'm sorry." He paused, flexing one hand uncomfortably, staring down at the grass. "But before we fight…there's something else you need to know. Iruka, I—"

But Iruka shook his head, cutting him off. "Don't," he said in a shaky voice. "Don't say it, because I already know. And I—I don't want to hear it." Very slowly, his hand reached into the holster on his belt and drew a kunai, bringing it up into position before him. "Just…" His eyes came up then, locking with Kakashi's own. "Don't you dare hold anything back." And he flew forward.

Metal clashed with metal as Kakashi reacted almost instinctively, bringing his own kunai up to block. Upon contact both shinobi instantly sprang back, and Iruka, though half of his brain was trying its best to stop him, was already forming seals even before he hit the ground.

"_Suiton: Bakusui Shouha!_"

Instantly the entire field became a miniature lake as Iruka launched himself forward toward his opponent once again, channeling chakra into the bottoms of his feet to propel himself into the air as Kakashi's Suiryuudan no Jutsu swept underneath him. Snapping off several well-aimed shuriken as he fell, Iruka ignored the clinking sounds of Kakashi's blocks as he landed and instantly shot forward again, bringing his right arm up, collecting water and freezing it even as he barrelled toward Kakashi.

The long katana, made of tightly compacted ice and several times stronger than steel, formed within seconds and Iruka brought it mercilessly down toward the head of his opponent. Kakashi instantly whipped his kunai up to block, and Iruka saw that single—beautiful, mesmerizing—blue eye widen in shock upon impact, and immediately Kakashi released his hold on his weapon, leaping back as the kunai shattered. Iruka spun, shooting several spikes of frozen ice his way.

Both shinobi were operating on the purely physical level now, firing off jutsus and hurling weaponry even as their minds struggled to come to terms with what was happening. And as both were jounin, it didn't take long for all emotion to be quashed in favor of the fight.

Suddenly catching the distinct red glint of the Sharingan shining in the darkness, Iruka dispelled the jutsu he had been about to use—a special family one—and instead formed a different set of seals, bracing himself for the recoil. "_Futon: Daitoppa!_"

The lethal blast of wind surged forward from him, cutting easily through the water toward Kakashi, but the Copy-Nin reacted just as fast. "_Mokuton: Moku Joheki!_" Instantly a thick layer of wood sprang up before him, effectively shielding him from Iruka's attack, but Iruka was already moving, hands flying through more seals, handle of the frozen katana clamped firmly between his teeth.

"_Suiton: Suigadan!_" Taking advantage of Kakashi's resulting distraction, Iruka leaped up, bringing his katana down—

It clashed with another one of the same size and the same composition, and Iruka immediately sprang back, glaring steadily at Kakashi who was holding an exact replica of his weapon. The Sharingan glinted, seeming to taunt him. So Kakashi could copy elemental manipulation techniques as well.

Iruka took a deep breath, feeling his grip on his katana slightly uncertain. There was no doubt about it; he had reached his chakra limit and, judging from the way Kakashi's knees shook ever so slightly, so had his opponent.

He had just enough for one more jutsu. After that…he would just let things play out.

Bringing his hands up, he flew through the seals, noting in the gathering darkness Kakashi doing the same. "_Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!_" And even as the whirling water vortex gathered before him and shot forward, Iruka followed it, bringing his katana up.

"_Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!_" So the Copy-Nin lived up to his name after all.

Ignoring the shockwaves of the two jutsus hitting each other headon, Iruka barrelled through the resulting wall of water, catching a glimpse of movement straight ahead and immediately slashing out. Kakashi blocked almost on reflex and Iruka immediately withdrew, attacking with a strong uppercut to drive Kakashi back. Feinting to the left, he immediately drew back as Kakashi moved to block and instead thrust forward; Kakashi leaped up and out of the way, and Iruka brought his sword up and over his head to block the attack that would otherwise have sliced right through his neck.

They did their deadly dance for several heartstopping seconds before Iruka employed another tricky feint, striking out toward Kakashi's midsection. The Leaf jounin shuffled quickly back, giving Iruka room and time to bring his sword around in a horizontal arc, aiming for Kakashi's neck, but the Copy-Nin quickly snapped his sword up, tilting it just enough to block. But all of Iruka's force had been behind that strike, and as a result both swords were dislodged from their owners' hands, one embedding itself into a nearby tree trunk and the other simply clattering to the ground several meters away.

Iruka wasted no time, immediately striking out at Kakashi barehanded; Kakashi blocked and countered with a kick. Iruka dropped into a crouch, kicking out hard with enough force to send Kakashi stumbling back despite his block and immediately Iruka was upon him, kicking, striking, twisting, turning, anything to fell his opponent—

And then Kakashi hit back with a clever elbow strike which Iruka blocked, but the sheer force of it brought him down but he kicked out, hitting Kakashi square in the knee so that his legs buckled and suddenly both shinobi were rolling in a tangle of arms and legs, once, twice, and finally came to a stop, with Kakashi sprawled on top of Iruka.

And that was it. Their bodies, having reached both physical and chakra limits, simply ground to a halt, leaving them stranded together, trembling, panting for breath. Gradually Kakashi became aware of the fact that his body was pressed _very_ close to Iruka's, and that he could feel the heat emanating from the other man, could hear his ragged gasps for breath and, tilting his head and peering carefully, he could just barely make out a single drop of sweat glistening in the moonlight as it slowly crawled down Iruka's jawline, making its way down his neck. And then something that could only be described as animal instinct hammered him straight in the gut and he bent down, yanking his mask down and licking the drop up in one long swipe of his tongue.

Iruka reacted instantly, grabbing Kakashi and spinning them both so that Kakashi ended up on his back, and the silver-haired jounin had about half a second to realize that the bright white spot in the darkness above was the moon before Iruka blocked his vision, claiming his lips. Kakashi moaned upon contact, immediately sliding his tongue inside the other jounin's mouth, drinking in Iruka's taste that was sweet and bitter and oh so perfect—

Their hands, in the meantime, were busy sliding over their bodies, hastily unzipping vests and running under sweat-soaked shirts as both gave in to the sudden desire to feel skin on skin. Kakashi broke from Iruka's mouth, hearing the other man whimper in protest before the whimpers dissolved into pleased gasps as he worked his way down the delicate jawline, pausing for a moment to suck on the earlobe before descending to the dark neck, kissing and licking before finally locating that one perfect spot and—

The sudden pain was what finally jolted Iruka out of his passionate haze, and in an eyeblink he had shoved Kakashi down and leaped back, stumbling over his own feet and landing rather unceremoniously on his rear. Kakashi immediately rose to a sitting position, blinking several times as his head, which had bumped rudely against the hard ground, finally cleared enough for him to realize what they had just done.

"Oh—Oh, _shit_—Iruka, are you—"

"Fine, fine," the other jounin quickly said, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling it up in a desperate attempt to hide the glaring red bite mark. "S'not bleeding, it's okay…"

Fighting the urge to punch himself, Kakashi reached up and pulled his mask back up, straightening his rumpled shirt and zipping his vest up with the other hand. "I—I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…"

"M-Me neither," Iruka said, rising and pulling his shirt, which had been riding halfway up his chest, back down. "Would you mind…?" He pointed to Kakashi's right and the Leaf jounin reached over, tossing him his vest.

Several moments passed as they straightened themselves out, neither daring to speak. Finally, though, when they were presentable once again, Iruka broke the silence. "I—ah…" He blushed, turning away. "Sorry."

Kakashi shook his head. "No, it's…" His voice trailed off, and for a moment they were silent again. Finally, though, he spoke. "Look, I really don't know what the hell that was," he said, "But if you…if you still want to go through with this…" He sighed. "Just take your kunai and do it. I won't stop you."

Iruka made no reply and Kakashi shut his eyes, waiting. For a long moment there was only quiet, a quiet so loud that both shinobi wanted to wince. At last, Iruka spoke, shoulders slumping. "We'd better get back," he said. "The food'll be growing cold."

"Yeah." Kakashi's voice was sad, and together the two shinobi walked off.

They said nothing on the way back, nothing as they ate the now-cold ramen, nothing as they cleared the table and began putting away the dishes, and nothing in the silence that followed as they simply stood where they were, on opposite sides of the kitchen, Iruka looking steadily out the window and Kakashi quietly watching his back. An eternity passed before Kakashi finally spoke.

"I'm going to bed," he said. "Come on in when you're…ready." He turned toward the bedroom and had taken one step forward when Iruka's voice stopped him.

"The day before that mission," the Rain jounin said, and Kakashi stopped, not daring to turn around as he continued, "Niisan came to talk to me."

He was silent for a moment before finally continuing, voice laced with something that was so much more than pain. "He told me he hated this war and he thought it was pointless," he said. "He was tired of it—tired of the war, tired of fighting. And then he said he had the feeling that things wouldn't turn out well on this mission."

He paused, wetting dried lips before forcing himself to go on. "I told him not to go, to follow his instincts. But he answered that, even though he didn't want to go, he had to. Orders were orders, after all, and it's the village over yourself, right?" He let out a shaky sigh. "And so I let him go."

For a long moment, there was only silence except for the raspy sounds of Iruka's own breathing. Kakashi had been holding his breath without knowing.

Then Iruka spoke again. "You need to know…that I don't blame you for killing Niisan," he said. "Orders…are orders. And I don't know if I can forgive you yet…but I'll try."

Kakashi stepped forward. "Iruka—"

"But what you said today out in the field," Iruka interrupted, "after you told me about Niisan…when I told you I didn't want to hear it, I meant it, Kakashi." He paused, taking a deep, trembling breath. "It's pointless," he said. "And it has nothing to do with Niisan either…but you and I both know it could never work." He ignored Kakashi's steady approach, instead continuing. "It doesn't matter how we feel…or what we see in each other. It only matters who we are: jounin, and citizens from different villages. It would never…it can't work." Another pause. "So just…just forget it. It, us, everything we had, everything we…could have had. Just forget it. It—It shouldn't be that hard."

When Kakashi answered, his voice was soft. "Just like ripping my heart out wouldn't be hard?"

Iruka gritted his teeth, spinning around, setting a determined expression on his face. "Kakashi, listen to—" The rest was lost when Kakashi shot forward, grabbing him in a tight embrace and pressing him against the kitchen counter. Iruka squeaked, feeling his heartbeat double at the sudden closeness, realizing he could feel Kakashi's breath on his neck, his hair brushing against his cheek, his _everything_ pressed up all along his body in a perfect, seamless fit. He reacted quickly before he could lose all trace of self-control, placing his hands on Kakashi's shoulders and attempting to shove him back. "Kakashi—"

"No." The voice was low, whispered, desperate. "Please don't. Just—" He took a breath, and Iruka realized that his entire body was trembling. "Just this one night—please—it's all I'm asking, just once, please stay with me—" And before Iruka could react, Kakashi had brought his head up, crushing his lips against Iruka's.

A sudden fire seared through his veins upon contact, and Iruka was returning the kiss before his mind had even fully processed what was happening, slicking his tongue past Kakashi's as his hands slid up the other jounin's shoulders to tangle in his silver hair. Kakashi's immediate reaction was to lift him up so that he was sitting on the counter with Kakashi pressed between his legs, and from this position his hands instantly went to work unzipping Iruka's vest.

Iruka, in the meantime, was just beginning to realize that Kakashi tasted slightly of lemons. Lemons and a dash of vanilla, like a frozen sweet that had just been taken out of the refridgerator. Feeling his vest slipping from his shoulders, he wriggled out of it impatiently, tossing it into the corner before delving into Kakashi's mouth again, searching for more of that sweet taste.

Kakashi, in the meantime, was thanking every god he could think of that the stupid vest was finally out of the way, and without hesitation he slipped his hands underneath the shirt, running cold fingers over the hot skin beneath, feeling Iruka arch into his touch with a low, sultry moan, face flushing an even deeper shade of red. Kakashi answered with a low growl deep in his throat, leaning forward and attacking Iruka's neck, bestrowing lavish attention upon the hickey from earlier, feeling the other man squirm in response.

_Ah, ah—need less clothes—damnit his zipper's stuck—_ "Ahh!" Kakashi's skilled fingers had found a nipple and pinched it, and Iruka arched up, gasping for breath as his hands clutched desperately at Kakashi's shoulders, digging down hard enough to leave marks in the flesh even through the dark blue shirt. Shifting then, he wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck, pulling him closer and licking the shell of his ear even as the older jounin continued to ravish his neck, groaning low and deep as his hands began dipping lower underneath Iruka's shirt, down past his chest and his stomach, past his navel to tug impatiently at the waistband of his pants.

_Damnit, I—ah!_ Iruka at the moment was struggling to form coherent thoughts, slowly drawing blood up from where it had suddenly rushed southward and redirecting it to his brain, forcing his mind back onto this plane of reality even as he pressed Kakashi even more closely against him. _I—ah—I need—w-we're—ahh, d-damn—I need—I can't—ah—I can't do this, damnit!_

"_Sh-Shunshin no Jutsu!_" A pop and a puff of smoke, and Kakashi slammed forward onto the counter, nearly braining himself on the smooth tile before reflex kicked in and he slapped his hands down to stop his fall. For a brief moment he stayed there suspended, staring down at the blank tiles, the sight of his sweat slowly hitting the white surface below him and the sound of his own frantic panting his only companions in the now-empty kitchen.

Several miles away, in a section of forest barely half a mile from the gates of Konoha, a single shinobi suddenly materialized in a rush of water and air, landing hard on his side with a soft cry and rolling several times before finally coming to a stop against a nearby tree. For a moment Iruka only stayed where he was, panting, face still flushed and hands still half-clasped in seals. Then the far-off call of a night bird seemed to rouse him, and getting to his feet he let out a frustrated scream and spun, slamming his fist into the tree behind him. A deep rumble was heard as wood splintered and timber cracked, and with a shuddering, almost mournful groan the trunk split and the tree toppled to the ground, causing the entire area to tremble.

Sinking down against the splintered remains of the trunk, Iruka buried his face in his hands and began to sob. And far away, alone in a house that was now empty and cold, Kakashi did the same.


	7. Finale

**A/N: **Last chapter. Yep, that's right, folks, I'm DONE. With this fic, at least. There are several other multi-chaptered KakaIru fics just waiting to be posted, but I'll get to those in time.

Try not to die of fluff overload in this chapter. My sincere apologies.

I've got a pseudo-plot planned out for a sequel to this fic, so keep an eye out for it in the future. It's still in its pre-planning stages, though, so it might take some time.

My deepest, heartfelt thanks to all my reviewers and readers who supported me throughout this fic. I can't express how grateful I am for your support and kind words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and let's meet at my next story._-MeeLee_

**_RAIN MUST FALL: _FINALE**

It was nearly midnight when Umino Iruka finally found himself trudging wearily up the wooden steps of the apartment complex, dragging his feet as if they were laden with bricks. He had considered staying out in the forest all night, but it was cold and dark and lonely out there. And here, this place had warmth, and comfort, and…and Kakashi.

He reached the apartment door, hesitating for a moment and taking a deep breath before attempting a tentative knock. Only silence answered for a brief instant before Kakashi's voice spoke up, slightly muffled by the wooden barrier. "Door's unlocked."

Sighing, Iruka turned the knob and entered the apartment. Shedding his sandals, he looked up and saw Kakashi seated on the couch, orange book lying face-down in his lap. The silver-haired jounin blinked once upon his entrance before inclining his head slightly in a formal gesture of acknowledgement. "Welcome back." His mask was in place once again.

"Ah…" Iruka looked away. "Th-Thank you."

Kakashi rose, tossing the book carelessly back onto the couch as he turned to face Iruka. "Would you like something to eat? Or I could make tea."

Iruka felt himself start to crumble. "I—th-that's all right, I'm f-fine—"

Kakashi tilted his head, single eye portraying total boredom. "Oh, come now, you must want something," he said. "After all, I'm supposed to be as hospitable to my guests as possible, right, Iruka-san?"

The cold formality nearly brought on tears, and Iruka struggled to keep his voice steady as he whispered, "Listen, Kakashi, I'm s—"

"There's no need to apologize." Kakashi's voice was calm, but had Iruka been looking at him he would have seen the uncertainty flickering in the blue eye. "Oh, you're bleeding, Iruka-san."

"Ah." Iruka brought his right hand up; blood was currently streaming quite freely from the knuckles. "It's…It's just a scratch. If you'd lend me your medical kit, I'll be able t-to—"

"Follow me then. I'll patch it up for you." Kakashi turned from him and headed into the bedroom. Wondering how much longer it would take for his heart to completely shatter, Iruka obediently followed.

A few moments later, they were seated side-by-side on the edge of Kakashi's bed. The medical kit lay open beside Kakashi, who was slowly and methodically wrapping the white bandages around Iruka's hand.

Iruka, in the meantime, sat still as stone, eyes fixed on the ground at his feet. So this was it then. Kakashi was angry with him, would never forgive him for what he had done. They would pass the night in cold civility, and Iruka would leave the next morning, and that would be the end of it. Kakashi would forget him immediately—perhaps he already had—and that was what he had wanted, yes, but did it have to _hurt_ so much? Did a broken heart have to hurt so _goddamn much?_

"Finished," Kakashi said in an even tone, shaking Iruka out of his thoughts. The Rain jounin managed a nod, moving to draw his hand back—but Kakashi refused to release his hold, and Iruka blinked when he realized that the other jounin had once again pulled his mask down.

"K-Kakashi, what…" His voice trailed off when Kakashi slowly lifted his hand, gently brushing his warm lips over the fresh bandages. And when he looked up and Iruka saw the pain, the longing written in both his eyes—he could have melted.

"I…" Kakashi's voice was strained, a far cry from the formal tone of before. "I don't…I don't want to forget this, Iruka. I don't want to—I won't."

Iruka said nothing, feeling the hand holding his tremble slightly as Kakashi continued, "I've tried to forget so many things in my life, Iruka. But now…now I've finally found something I want to remember. And I'm not going to just let you go like this. I won't—I _can't_ forget you, Iruka." He lifted his head, mismatched eyes locking with Iruka's brown ones. "S-So please," he said, voice cracking just slightly, shaking almost uncontrollably as if having trouble keeping the sobs from coming up, "Don't—Don't make me forget. B-Because I want to remember…" And a single tear leaked out of that blue eye.

Iruka had prepared himself for a variety of emotions in response to Kakashi's words: guilt, anger—pity, perhaps. But he totally did not expect what came in their stead: relief. Relief that flooded his brain, his very being. Relief that Kakashi didn't hate him, that Kakashi wasn't angry, that it wasn't over. Relief that Kakashi still loved him. Relief that there was still a chance. And somewhere between that moment and the next, Iruka's entire list of reasons against this was incinerated in a mental furnace.

Very slowly, he brought his bandaged hand up, gently pressing it against Kakashi's cheek. Kakashi blinked, perhaps surprised at the reaction, but Iruka only shook his head. "You're right," he said. "If it's something worth remembering, it doesn't deserve to be forgotten." He paused before smiling, soft, reassuring. "Come here," he said simply, and Kakashi readily obeyed.

The hours ticked slowly by. The wind wafted through the trees and the walls of the village, the moon shone pearl-like in the sky, and the chittering of nocturnal insects gradually receded as they too gave in to sleep. And in a small room in a dark apartment at the heart of Konohagakure, soft moans and whispered pleas filled the air as two lovers chose to remember rather than forget.

* * *

It was a little before noon when the small group of Rain ninja gathered at the gates of the village, checking their packs and straightening their affairs one final time before departure. Perched lightly on the roof of one of the nearby guardposts, Hatake Kakashi watched them quietly, sweeping a passive eye over the group before stopping on one person.

Umino Iruka was currently helping one of the government officials into his palanquin, smiling and nodding politely to the man as he stepped inside. As soon as the silk curtains closed, however, he immediately turned around, eyes instinctively seeking out Kakashi's. Calm brown eyes met passive mismatched ones.

* * *

_"The sun's rising," Iruka quietly remarked._

_Kakashi sighed, turning away from the steadily-lightening window and instead burying his nose in Iruka's long brown hair, inhaling his lover's scent. "Don't look at it."_

_"Can't stay here forever," Iruka said, his actions suggesting the exact opposite as he sleepily nuzzled Kakashi's bare neck._

_Kakashi's voice was quiet, resigned. "I know." He paused for a moment. "Promise you'll come back?"_

_"I…I can't." Iruka buried his face in Kakashi's shoulder. "I'm our clan's second head now; I have to stay home to keep things under control. There isn't much time for…other things."_

_But the Leaf jounin only smiled, bringing a hand up to brush some of Iruka's hair out of his face. "Then at least promise you'll keep your window open for me."_

_Iruka smiled sadly. "All right."_

_"And…" Kakashi took a deep breath. "Don't leave me behind, okay?"_

_Iruka lifted his head. "I won't if you won't."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Promise."

* * *

_

Very slowly, Iruka's face broke into a reassuring smile, a smile that spoke of love and comfort and a whispered promise. Then, in a flash and a rush of scattered leaves, he and the rest of the Rain group disappeared.

Standing alone on his silent, mournful lookout, Kakashi slowly tilted his head upward, quietly regarding the bright sunny sky.

"It's raining," he remarked to no one in particular. And it was.

**FINI**


End file.
